Lessons Across Timelines
by Lessa Soong
Summary: Data is whisked away from his own life and pulled into another time and place, but how did he get here? Added chapters 8 9 and 10. It gets hotter and heavier here...beware of kitchens! note change of rating! Please R & R NOW COMPLETE!
1. From the page to my livingroom

This is a work of fan fiction. Paramount owns Star Trek and all its universe. I just wish I had one little part of it....Data! You think they would miss him? LOL No copyright infringement is intended. All hail TPTB! This is a Data/female romance. Some sex will be in later chapters, unless I drop dead before I get to post them. The rating will be R. Please read and review. THANKS!  
  
Lessons Across Timelines By Lessa Soong  
  
The Edge  
  
What is it that draws me to you?  
  
I really don't know. Maybe I never will. I have read just about everything I can find to read about you.  
  
But it never seems to be enough.  
  
I have written my own line about you and still it is not enough.  
  
I cannot seem to get my fill of you.  
  
I have your image around me most of the time and gaze at you often.  
  
I dream of you.  
  
Oddly, in the last week, every night. But this was never so before.  
  
I cannot always retain what I saw, but that it was of you I am certain.  
  
I wonder if I teeter on the edge of sanity.  
  
If I fall, will you be there to catch me?  
  
It seems only fitting as you are the one that pushed me over that edge.  
  
Have you ever experience obsession?  
  
I think I live it.  
  
You are the first and last image in my mind each day and I have never even been in the same room with you...and I never will.  
  
I would imagine that this can't last...but so far it has.  
  
I am growing old thinking of you.  
  
But I am not growing cold.  
  
I want you.  
  
I have for years.  
  
But what draws me to you?  
  
I still do not know.  
  
Chapter 1 - From the page to my living room  
  
She had been a fan for years. As a child her father, who had thought that watching cartoons was a waste of time, had introduced her to Star Trek.  
  
"Why would you watch this garbage when Star Trek is on?" he had said once, and changed the channel. That had been all it took. She had been hooked in that instant.  
  
First Star Trek, then Isaac Asimov, Heinlein and all the rest of the sci-fi writers. As a teenager she had gone on to introduce Star Trek to her best friend, Lori. They went to conventions together and talked about the show endlessly. Her favorite character had been Spock and Lori's had been Chekov. In 1987, when the Next Generation had premiered, she was married and had one child. In a friend's living room she crowded in front of the TV with ten others, including her husband and daughter, to watch "Encounter at Farpoint".  
  
It was awesome!  
  
What followed was a whole new world. Each of the new characters was so fresh and interesting that she had trouble deciding on a favorite. At times she felt that her favorite was whichever character had been featured in that week's episode. She and the whole family immersed themselves in the new chapter of the Trek universe and all were happy.  
  
That continued through the years until the unthinkable happened.  
  
It was a simple car accident. Head on and fatal. Her husband most likely never even felt a moment's pain, but she did. Their daughter, Melody, had been thirteen at the time of her father's tragic death. The teenager seemed better able to handle the blow than her mother did.  
  
Two jobs were required to keep the family going. There was insurance and a settlement from the accident, but she put that money away for Melody's college fund. Dating was out of the question. She had no interest in any man she met and no time for them even if one could catch her eye. She had some friends, but most were on-line friends whom she chatted with about her only living passion.  
  
Star Trek.  
  
And at present there was a heck of a lot of Star Trek to chat about!  
  
She eventually discovered fan art and fan fiction. It was just after reading a story about Lore, Lt. Commander Data's evil brother, that she remembered a little fantasy story that she had made up years ago that involved Data. Deciding that her typing could use the practice, she began to work on pulling the story from her head and putting it on paper...well, disk.  
  
Being a hopeless romantic, her tale was a love story in which Data finally got the girl. As she'd had the story in the back of her head for years it was by now quite involved, but 252 pages in, she got stuck on a technical detail that she could not resolve herself. In frustration she pushed this story aside and wondered what would result if she changed some of the details of her first story and started again. All of the characters that she had created in addition to the love interest for Data where brought back but the situation was different. Same music, different dance... Where as in her first story they had met on the girl's home world, this time they met on the Enterprise. It was amazing how differently the story unfolded.  
  
This caused her to think of another situation. What about the future? Data could live for centuries! What would his next love be like? Twenty-five pages into story two, she began story three with a second heroine. But parts of it also had problems...  
  
Story four only got to page five before she wondered if her premise was unseemly. Introducing Data to someone who was at the beginning of the story only four years old, but would grow to be a love interest many, many years later might upset some people.  
  
Story five took place in the future, but involved Data never meeting the girl for story one and two.  
  
This one she finished. And she liked a lot!  
  
By this time, her daughter was 18 and in college. She still worked two jobs but any free time she had was taken up by her full-blown obsession with Data. Pictures of him made up her screen saver. Her desktop was also him. She had changed the sound to lines for the show that she had downloaded. Now when she turned her computer on, Data's voice could be heard to say, "Honey, I'm home!" and when she turned it off, he said, "Data out!" She found new sound waves after a while and created a folder labeled "Data" to store them in so that rotating them would be easier.  
  
All and all, she had a full life...it was just filled with a being who did not exist!  
  
Melody worried, but it wasn't as though this would cause her to jump off a bridge or rob a bank, so who was she hurting? She still went to conventions and had hoped, one day to meet the actor who played Data, but she had decided that one obsession was enough and she was sticking with the one who was not real.  
  
The year was 2002 and a friend of hers was editing story five, as she knew it was lousy with run on sentences. She was again working on story two and had completed over 100 pages.  
  
It was Saturday, late fall, 12:53 PM. She had taken the day off from her second job and was busy typing with cold coffee on her desk and music that she had downloaded flowing from the speakers of her computer. She was now up to over 400 of her favorite tunes.  
  
She was dressed in jeans and a black and white horizontal striped collared shirt. She was typing furiously. Lore was about to make an appearance in this story and the girl and Lore always had interesting arguments. Unable to decide on Lore's opening jab, she got up from her chair and heading for the kitchen. Making lunch would allow her a few moments away from the words on the screen and help her to see Lore's face and hear what he wanted to say.  
  
Her vacating the chair and the room was fortuitous. Had she remained, the flash of light that filled her living room may have temporarily blinded her. The odd pop the accompanied the white flash did, however, cause her to come running. What she saw when she got there caused her to believe that she must be asleep and dreaming. Either that or someone had paid Brent Spiner a hell of a lot of money to play a joke on her. Except how did they get him into her living room?  
  
When she'd run back into the room, he had been looking around, with a blank look in his face. At her entrance, he turned to face her.  
  
If this was an actor, or a fake, he was a damn good one!  
  
He had a tricorder in his left hand and a phaser at his side. He moved to touch the phaser, but she threw up her hands in submission.  
  
"Unless you find kitchen towels threatening, I don't think you'll need the phaser," she gasped. With the tricorder still in his hand, he made use of the device and scanned her.  
  
"Human," he noted.  
  
"100%," she agreed.  
  
"May I ask where I am, please?" Always polite...but still?  
  
"Earth." She told him. He frowned. He didn't believe her.  
  
"That is highly unlikely. We were on-- Where on earth, please?" he asked, kindly.  
  
"About an hour outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Don't you want to know the year?" This was her first question, but it had quite an affect. His composure could not have been more shattered if she had stripped naked right there.  
  
"Yes, please," he asked weakly.  
  
"2002, old earth calendar."  
  
He opened his mouth, but closed it again before saying anything. How familiar that looked, she thought to herself. She wondered how far this dream would progress before she woke up.  
  
"Why have you brought me here?" he finally asked. Now it was her turn to look shocked.  
  
"Unless wishful thinking has given me a new ability, I don't think I had anything to do with your arrival here. I take it you were not trying to get to 2002?"  
  
His expression became speculative. "Why did you use the year in that question and not the location?"  
  
"Isn't it easier to travel from one location to another than it is from one time to another?" she asked innocently.  
  
He looked very unsure as to how to answer. Of course! The Prime Directive!  
  
"Maybe we should start with something simple. Hi, I'm Harper Talenger." She extended a hand and he returned his tricorder to his belt and took her hand for a precise shake.  
  
"I am called Data," he said smoothly. From behind him, Harper noticed that her screen saver had just popped on.  
  
Oh, God! She thought. Reaching past him, she lunged for the off switch to the monitor. But she suspected he probably saw. Turning back to face him, she folded her arms behind her and tried to grin innocently at him. She knew that she was failing miserably and a blush was rising to her cheeks.  
  
"Sorry, but that's going to take some explaining..." she tilted her head toward the computer screen and sighed. He looked very suspicious.  
  
"Perhaps now would be a good time to start the explanation, Miss Talenger." He looked very alert now. He had definitely seen the picture of himself standing in front of the turbo lift, holding the hand of the little girl from 'Pen Pals". Harper sighed again. What would he have concluded from that? That she was lying and that she had indeed brought him here?  
  
"This is going to take a while. Why don't we sit, because I think about now, I need to." She was feeling a bit light headed and woozy. This could not be happening! She had read, "Visit to a weird planet, revisited." And even an unfinished TNG version of this story, but this was...happening in her living room, damn it!  
  
She made it to a chair and collapsed, he followed cautiously behind. He sat on the center cushion of her couch. God but was he handsome! In story five, one of the first things that the woman noticed about Data was the way he moved. The female character had found him attractive in the way he moved from day one to the end of the story; at this moment Harper realized just how accurate that sentiment truly was.  
  
She sighed and gave this some thought. How was she going to explain this to him? He was not going to believe her. She opened her mouth to speak but noticed that his attention had been drawn to her fireplace mantel.  
  
"Oh, hell!" she muttered. He was back on his feet and in a second was picking up a box that contained a Barbie sized version of himself. Her sister had given it to her as a birthday gift three years ago. Harper had forgotten it was there.  
  
"Is this a...toy?" he asked, curiosity clear in his tone. Better than anger.  
  
"Yes. Please don't open it or destroy it."  
  
"Why is there the image of a...do you know what this is?" He was pointing to the image of the Borg on the lower left-hand side of the box. The doll was from the movie 'First Contact'.  
  
~ Not an experience I bet he wants to be reminded of. ~  
  
"It's a picture of a Borg. Please, Commander. This is going to be very hard to explain as it is. Please sit back down before you find more to cause you to question me." Harper glanced around the room to see if there was anything else that she needed to throw out a window. Fortunately, her DVD box sets of TNG were behind something else and he could not see the symbol that would have given him pause.  
  
He returned to his seat.  
  
"As I said, you are on Earth in the year 2002. I don't think you're in the same timeline that you were in before you...left." What if this really was an actor? She slowly got to her feet. Coming across the room, she reached out to his face. He looked confused and wary, but did not pull away as she ran a finger across his cheek. Warm and soft. Just like his hand. She glanced at her fingers. No make-up. She felt weak in the knees again, but she was not a fainter!  
  
She returned to her chair.  
  
"Why did you touch me in that manner? And why is it your belief that I have changed timelines?" he asked, doing his little thinking twitch.  
  
"Because in my timeline you're a character in a television entertainment show. As fictitious as a character in a Shakespearean play." This seemed to convince him that she may be truly lying or just out of her mind. He jumped to his feet and raced to the monitor. Turning it back on, he was treated to the sight of picture after picture of himself flashing briefly before his eyes. In some he was alone, in others he was pictured with others. There was a very nice one of him and his mother, Juliana. There was even one of him and Spot, his cat.  
  
"How is it you have images of so much of my life? My family, my friends? How have you done this?" He was growing upset...and then the picture of him standing with the Borg Queen flashed by.  
  
He gasped and staggered backwards as though he had been electrocuted.  
  
"Commander Data, please let me turn that off, otherwise you're going to be convinced you should shoot me before I get the chance to explain this properly!" She sat down at the desk and shut the computer down. She turned the speaker off before he could hear his own voice saying, "end program".  
  
At least he hadn't seen the one where he was about to kiss the Queen!  
  
Standing again, Harper faced him. He obviously had his emotion chip with him, and he was very angry!  
  
"I ask you again, Miss Talenger, why have you brought me here?"  
  
Yep, he sounded pissy now.  
  
This was quickly going from bad to worse. Funny, for years now, she would have given everything she owned to spend two minutes in his arms. Now she had been in the same room with him for less than ten minutes and he hated her already! That song by Alanis Morissette suddenly came to mind.  
  
"Come over here. The only way you are going to believe me is if you see it for yourself." She went to the TV and pulled season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation out from behind the other DVDs she had stacked up there. She turned on the TV and the disc player. Popping disc one in the unit, she went back to her chair and motioned for him to take a seat. Before setting the player to start, she switched to a show that was currently on regular TV so he would have something to compare it to.  
  
"Ok, this is a soap opera. It's just about the most pitiful form of entertainment known to man. The only thing worse is kids shows like Barney." Two people were throwing things at each other and screaming on one channel. She switched to another soap and this one had two people having sex. "Oh, sorry. Let's see if Barney is on." He was.  
  
"He is purple. Is he intended to accurately represent an creature from the Jurassic period?" Data asked looking like he hoped that her people were not all crazy.  
  
Harper laughed. "Not really. He's just something that's used to help kids learn the alphabet and numbers and such. Ok, now here's an educational channels for adults." She switched to the Discovery Channel and then the History Channel. He found both interesting and was disappointed when she turned them off to activate the disc player.  
  
"You can watch it later if you want. Right now, I still need to convince you that I'm not Kivas Fajo. Oops, sorry. Oh, just watch." She began the disc. The opening sequence ran and the characters were scrolled through one at a time. When they got to his face, towards the end of the sequence he looked at her.  
  
"In what order were our images shown. It was not by rank." He looked slightly offended to be shown right before Wesley. She tried not to grin.  
  
"Alphabetically, by the names of the actors who play the characters. Except for the first two. They're considered the lead roles so they come first." He digested this.  
  
"That is an actor who plays...me? What is his name?" He looked very disconcerted.  
  
"Wait and see." She hit the button to play "Encounter at Farpoint". The story began and his eyes went wide.  
  
"The Farpoint Mission" he mumbled to himself.  
  
"Yes, the one that started it all. Well, started it all again." The first scenes concluded and the opening credits rolled. He looked like he would laugh as Patrick Stewart spoke dramatically of new life and all...  
  
"I believe the proper term for this would be....corny." Then his name and Brent Spiner's rolled by. He looked at her in disbelief. His own name seemed to make it all the more real...or unreal.  
  
"It's all here. Well, not all of it. I only have season one, two and four. I was hoping to get three and five soon, but I can't afford them right now." Deciding that he could figure out how to use the remote control faster then she could blink, Harper handed it to him. Not surprisingly, he fast-forwarded through most of the rest. He paused at the first clip with Tasha Yar.  
  
"I'll leave you two alone." Harper rose and went to the kitchen. She was still hungry, and his appearance meant that she was shaking enough to burn a whole hell of a lot of calories. After nuking some left over beef stew, she sat down at her dinette table alone.  
  
This was just too weird, and she still didn't feel like she was dreaming. Just to test she patted her cheek sharply to see if she would wake up. She didn't accomplish anything other then causing a red mark to appear on her face. She finished eating and was tending to the dishes when Data appeared from around the corner. She gasped and dropped the plate she had been about to place in the dishwasher.  
  
"I apologize for startling you. Are you alright?" he asked studying her. She nodded her head slowly. She inhaled and exhaled deeply and bent to retrieve the plate. It had not broken.  
  
He continued to watch her as she finished her clean up of her kitchen. She was 1.76 meters in height. Data calculated her weight to 66 kilos. Her hair was a shoulder length dark brown, but when she passed by her window the sun's light revealed red highlights. Her eyes were gray with only the barest hint of blue. Her figure was a classic hourglass shape with only the slightest hint of a paunch in her abdominal area. He had taken note of various pictures that she had scattered around the part of her house that he had seen thus far. In several, there was a child in various stages of development. This child was often pictured with Harper, but was also picture alone or with Harper and a dark haired man that Data concluded must be Harper's husband. The android hoped this man was of the understanding variety. Coming home to find a male android alone with your wife could cause many human males to experience mistrust and jealousy.  
  
He looked her over once more. He noted that she wore no jewelry. No rings, no earrings, not even a watch. Had the marriage ended? In this era, women were no longer considered possessions, but most North American women wore a ring if they were married. But the man's picture was still displayed. He doubted she would keep his picture up if the marriage had been devolved.  
  
Data recalled that his own mother did not have pictures of his father in her home that she now shared with Pran Tainer. Data concluded that Harper's husband was possibly deceased or that she simply did not wear a ring. Either way, it could lead to an uncomfortable situation if he were not careful. This was all contingent on this not being some holodeck fantasy or a trick. He knew he was not dreaming. All of his diagnostics reported that his cognitive functions were on-line and functioning within normal parameters.  
  
"Miss Talenger, does one of these discs contain the events that occurred on Stardate 41601.6?" he asked her. She looked him in the eyes and was silent for several seconds.  
  
"I was never one to memorize the Stardates, but after the way you looked when you saw Tasha, I think I can guess what you are asking for. It's entitled 'Skin of Evil", Commander," Harper told him and looked away. Data nodded and returned to the living room, commenting that this title made sense.  
  
Harper finished her cleaning and returned to the living room in time to see Data watching the recorded events just prior to Tasha's death. The mistress of the house gently pulled the remote from the golden hand that held it to pause the scene.  
  
"Why are you watching this? You remember all of it perfectly. Why would you want to torture yourself with these images?" Her tone was gentle, her eyes, compassionate.  
  
"My memory did not include the moments that Armus spoke with the counselor. I was not there to witness the moments shown there or the efforts being made on the bridge. The angle is different and offers a different perspective..." His voice trailed off.  
  
"The point was not to mourn, Commander. The point was for you to believe that what I am telling you is true. I realize that this may sound heartless, but we don't know what the window of opportunity is for getting you back. Shouldn't you be looking for it?"  
  
She was right of course, but Data had not truly accepted that this was not a trick of some sort. This kind of trick had been played by Q and...Well, it was a long list. He was not convinced that this woman would not turn out to be someone whom he could add to that list. As he could not see how doing as she had suggested could back fire, he pulled out his tricorder and rescanned the area where he had appeared.  
  
"Find anything?" she asked after a few moments of watching him point the thing all around the room and even over himself.  
  
"One moment," he said and came over to direct the tricorder at her a second time. She just stood still and waited.  
  
"Am I still human?" she asked with amused impatience. He looked up as though he'd been so deep in thought that he had forgotten she was still there.  
  
~ Great, been here not even an hour and already I bore him. If I was going to wish someone into existence, shouldn't they at least find me fascinating? ~  
  
"Yes, you are still human. During my initial scan I found-"  
  
"Commander, please remember that while I watch and love Star Trek, I may not understand a truly detailed analysis. Try and keep it simple. Imagine you're explaining this to Counselor Troi."  
  
"Ah" he said, nodding his understanding. Harper couldn't decide whether she should laugh or not.  
  
"I did find evidence of a minute temporal rift. Simple enough?" he asked, in a patient and non-condescending tone.  
  
"Yes. I take it the rift is gone?" she asked. He nodded. "Can you recreate it? Is there evidence it will reappear?" This time he did not nod. She sighed heavily.  
  
"I do not know how it was possible for this to happen originally. While it is theoretically possible for a temporal rift to develop on a planet, the conditions necessary for this result would require...unnatural intervention." He studied her face to see if she understood.  
  
"You were on a planet?" she asked, sounding like she was gathering puzzle pieces. He nodded. "Did you beam down alone?" Data shook his head this time. "Do you think that your other party members were also pulled back in time? Were they near you? What was the last thing you saw?"  
  
Data nodded his approval of her questions. "The other members of the away team, Commander Riker and Dr. Crusher, were ten point three meters and seven point two meters in front of me, respectively. Their backs and the walls of the cave we had entered were the last images I saw. Did you see or notice any disturbances when I arrived?" Data asked, turning the questions on Harper.  
  
"I had just left the room, but I heard a 'pop'. It was a loud pop, almost like a gun shot but the sound was...higher pitched." It seemed to him that she was running the scene through her memory to dig up more detail. "There was also a light. I was facing away, but it lit up the whole side of the house. It lasted only a second and a half, I would guess...I couldn't time it exactly of course." She shrugged helplessly at him. Data smiled.  
  
"Can you think of anyone who would be capable of bringing me here?" Data knew this was a long, long shot, but it had to be asked. It was her turn to shake her head.  
  
"Are you going to be able to get back?" she asked.  
  
"At this point, I see no way in which I can." He sounded suddenly downcast. Turning from her, he went back to sit on the couch to study the readings he had taken on the tricorder.  
  
Harper's mind was racing. No Star Trek episode had ever left the character without an escape. Even when it had looked like Data was meant to die in the past...that was it!  
  
"Wait! That's it! That's it! Damn, I don't have that one on disc! Commander, what about Guinan? She was there when you were thrown back to 1890. Could she be here now?"  
  
He looked like he was considering this for a moment, but sadly shook his head after a moment. "It is possible, but as this is not MY timeline, it is probable that it is also not Guinan's timeline. I will make an effort to contact her despite that fact. Thank you for the suggestion." He smiled, but only half-heartedly.  
  
Data felt like he could almost sink into the couch. He let his shoulders slump and he buried his hands between his knees. He was stuck here for at least a while and he was none too happy about it. Harper heaved a sigh and sat down next to him, but he did not look at her. He wished that Counselor Troi had been pulled here with him. At least then he would have someone to talk to. The emotions that this was invoking all at once were devastating. It felt as though something were squeezing his chest and causing him to lose the ability to breathe.  
  
Geordi, Deanna, Beverly, Will...The Captain. Data still could not just think of the man by his first name. Captain Picard had been his commanding officer for so long that to refer to him informally would feel disrespectful. How could it be that the captain did not exist...and may never exist in this timeline except as a character in an entertainment? Data knew that in his timeline, history included what was called science fiction. Isaac Asimov had written about robots with positronic brains centuries before Data's father had brought that fiction to life. With this in mind, the android turned to look at Harper.  
  
"Does the name Isaac Asimov mean anything to you?" he asked her.  
  
"I, Robot, The Foundation series, Harry and his psychohistory and Susan Calvin. Asimov was one of my favorite authors. I even read one of his wife's books because I loved his so much. I know he wrote about the positronic brain. Is that why you're asking?"  
  
At least the idea of his brain existed here. "Yes," was all he could say.  
  
They sat in silence for several moments before she rose from the couch. "You want to be alone and I have some errands to run. I'm only planning on going to the grocery store, but is there anything I can get you while I'm out?" She looked as defeated as he felt.  
  
"For what purpose? Data asked.  
  
"I have no idea." She admitted with a shrug and a smile. "Just thought I'd be polite and ask. I know this is very hard on you, Commander, but having a sentient android from hundreds of years into the future suddenly appear in my living room is rather disconcerting for me as well. I am willing to do anything I am capable of to help you get back or at least to make life tolerable for you here until you come up with a plan to get yourself back."  
  
Somehow the fact that she, too, was affected by this impossible turn of events helped Data to feel slightly less alone. Harper was right, he was allowing his emotions to overrule his logic. Somewhere there was an answer and he just had to find it. With renewed enthusiasm, Data got to his feet. The logical course of action was to learn about where he was and try to discover if there was any technology that existed in this time and timeline that could assist him in his quest.  
  
"May I use your computer while you are away?" he asked. Oddly she  
paled.  
  
"I guess I should have guessed that you would ask that. Ok, you sit there and let me reconfigure some things on it and turn on the DSL, as I'm sure you'll need the Internet. But please, promise me you won't peek at what I'm doing...please." She looked very nervous.  
  
"I promise," he assured her, confused as to what she was trying to hide and suspicious as to the reason. With a nod, she headed for her computer. Data retook his seat, so that the back of the chair to his right would block his view of her and the computer desk.  
  
Click, beep, click. She was typing furiously, but he kept his word and did not lean to his right to see what she was doing.  
  
Harper could not believe she had to do this. All her screen savers were Star Trek based. She would be forced to use the standard Windows wallpaper and screen saver. She had to change all the sound waves as well. But she was not deleting her stories! She copied them all to disc and decided to hide the hard copies in her room. Data's ethical sub-routines should prevent him from searching in there...she hoped. Still, she could label them to sound uninteresting even to a curious android who was the second officer of a starship...that no longer existed anywhere outside of Hollywood.  
  
Damn, that had to be upsetting him. To have your whole life wiped out of time. Had she had something to do with it? Could you wish someone from their world into yours? If you were Q you could do it, she thought. But why the hell would the Q of Data's universe give a damn about what a lonely woman from another universe wanted? Q only cared about manipulating people and things in order to create entertainment for himself.  
  
Would this situation be amusing to Q?  
  
Maybe...  
  
But the omnipotent being preferred playing with the captain. Data had saved Q's life once and Harper always thought that it had caused Q to have a sort of soft spot for the android. But who could really guess how far Q would go?  
  
Harper had finished her work. She had even renamed her 'Data' folder. Now she would have to go over the rest of the house since he couldn't even leave the house without causing a stir-- Crap! He couldn't leave! This was a big mess!  
  
She called him over. Once he was standing behind her she gave him a brief run down on how this antiquated computer worked. The Internet was not the Federation database and never would be, but it would be his best source of information in this time period.  
  
"Please, do not go into this application. Word is just a program that allows you to write letters or make notes...stuff like that. You have no need of it with you memory and I have private, personal things in there that I would be very upset and embarrassed if you saw." Especially the sex scenes, she thought to herself.  
  
She almost laughed at the memory of the first time she had attempted to write a sex scene... Her hands had been shaking with embarrassment over typing the word 'erection'. She had laughed at herself for over five minutes because she had spelled it wrong...  
  
Harper tried not to grin since she did not want to explain to Data why she was!  
  
"I will not require the use of 'Word'," the android assured her. "I shall honor your request and avoid it," he promised. She nodded and surrendered the chair to him. She headed for her room, discs in hand, to hide them and retrieve her shoes.  
  
She passed by her dresser, and caught sight of herself in the mirror. She stopped to examine her reflection. Not bad for a 36 year old, she decided. She went to the bathroom and ran a brush through her hair, but did not bother with make-up. It was her day off and she was not going to try and impress this man, who was not really here...could not be here, with cosmetics. Her skin had always been clear even in her teenage years, but now she suffered a slight case of rosacea that caused her cheeks to had a mottled redness to them if she wore too much make-up or drank caffeine.  
  
Oh, well...she was not going to give up her morning coffee!  
  
Still, the redness was not bad today it just caused her to look a little flushed. She brushed her teeth and left the bedroom.  
  
When Harper returned to the living room the computer was fully under Data's control. Words and images sped by as fast as he could cause them to scroll. His long fingers seemed to dance over the keyboard. She doubted he could go his full speed as her computer could not keep up with him, but he showed no signs of frustration. But then, it hadn't locked up on him yet.  
  
"I bet you'd give just about anything for five minutes access of the Enterprise computer," she commented as she approached him.  
  
"Ironic, as if I had access, I would not need access...to solve this dilemma." She laughed at this. He looked up at her and smiled briefly, but the smile looked forced.  
  
He still did not believe her!  
  
Harper could see it in his amber eyes. For some reason she was suddenly angry. She prided herself on her honesty and to have him question it, even silently, made her furious!  
  
"What would convince you that I was not faking this all somehow, Commander?" To her surprise, Data came to his feet.  
  
"Allow me to accompany you when you leave," he replied, standing tall before her.  
  
"That is not possible. You may have been able to convince holograms from the Dixon Hill program that you were from South America, but that is not going to work here! It's cold but it's a sunny day out there. The first ray of sun that reflects off your golden skin is either going to have people running or calling the police. You need to stay here until you find some way back to where you belong." How could he not know that? Simple, he still believed this was some sort of holographic trick.  
  
"Then I am to be a prisoner here." It was not a question.  
  
She sighed, exasperated.  
  
"Fine, if that's what it takes to convince you, then come. But please, leave the phaser here," she pleaded. He did not like that suggestion. "Fine, bring it, but you are going to have to stay in the car. I have a van and the back windows are tinted. You'll be able to see out, but others won't be able to see in unless they're right next to the car. Will you agree to the logic of this suggestion or are you going to fight with me on that too?"  
  
"It is not wise to leave technology behind when dealing with a pre- warp culture. The danger of exposure is too prevalent." He was referring to her suggestion to leave the phaser.  
  
"And what you didn't say is that you don't know that someone would not be instructed to sneak into my house and retrieve that very technology. But if I have the power to pull you here, would I not also be able to use it to take myself there? And if I could, then I could have just stolen the stuff I wanted without the witnesses. What possible use could I have for you?" She hoped she had cornered him, but she had forgotten something.  
  
"Perhaps I am the technology you wished," Data replied stoically.  
  
"What? Oh, right. I forgot for a moment."  
  
"What did you forget?" he asked, confused.  
  
"That you could be considered technology. I forgot about you being an android." He looked like he found this very hard to believe. She huffed at him. "Consider for just a moment that I am telling the truth, Commander. The character that I see on Star Trek is a human male who pretends to be an android. He is not neural nets and processors and sub-routines covered by bioplast sheeting. He's just a man with gold make up and yellow contacts."  
  
He processed this, his eyes going back and forth like she had seen him to so many times on TV. After a moment he focused on her again.  
  
"That is why you touched my face earlier. You doubt me as I doubt you?" She nodded. Data's expression changed to one of determination. He touched a spot on his forehead and applied a slight amount of pressure. An area approximately three inches across and two inches long popped open. Harper was always reminded of a Christmas tree whenever she saw under his 'skin' on TV. All the pretty lights of his neural nets were much nicer than blood and guts, but he wouldn't think so. She couldn't resist. Reaching up, she gently closed the access panel.  
  
"Ok, so now it's my turn." She moved to the console to her right and picked up her purse and keys. "Damn," she muttered. Hanging from her key ring was a miniature metal copy of a Borg cube. "My daughter's right, I have no life..." she clutched the keys in her hand and led the way to the stairs that would take them to the garage. She yanked the cube off the ring as she descended the stairs and slipped it into her pocket, out of sight.  
  
She opened the sliding back door for him and closed it again once Data was seated safely in the back. The trip to the store was short, but maybe it was enough to convince him that he was not in a holodeck. Harper knew he could detect the walls of a holodeck. She parked the car back away from the other cars and turned to look at him.  
  
"You will stay on the car, won't you? I really don't want to be in jail tonight for harboring a dangerous alien."  
  
"If I am just a character is a story...how can I hurt anyone?" he replied, sardonically.  
  
"I know this is all a bit much to take or believe, Commander. I think I'm going to need a nights sleep and maybe several glasses of wine before I'm truly able to deal with this, but you can't believe that jumping out of the car and waving your phaser at these people is not...against the Prime Directive!"  
  
Data was taken aback. "I have no intention of waving my phaser at anyone unless they threaten me first. Do you truly intend to consume alcohol in an attempt to better acclimate to our situation?" he asked, dubiously.  
  
"You bet your sweet positronic brain, I do." And with that she got out of the car. No need to lock it. If he wanted out, he could get out. He could punch through the door if he wanted, so a lock was pointless.  
  
Harper bought the things she needed as fast as she could and returned to the van. She opened the hatch and released her breath when she saw that Data was staring back at her.  
  
"Hi," she said.  
  
"Greetings," he answered.  
  
Trying not to grin, she loaded her purchases and closed the hatch. Back in the driver's seat, a moment later, she started the car.  
  
"Is there an establishment where one may acquire electronic equipment locally?" he asked sitting forward.  
  
"Data, sit back and get your seatbelt back on!" she found herself exclaiming. She was never going to get used to this... "Sorry, forgot again. Please keep you seatbelt on for my peace of mind. It goes against my programming to drive if anyone in the car is without one." In her mirror she could see him nod and comply.  
  
"There is a small electronics store nearby, but if you need something, I think the best thing would be for you to find it on-line and then find the closest place where we can buy it. You will have to keep one thing in mind though."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I'm a poor woman with a daughter in college. I work two jobs and have a mortgage and a car payment along with all the other normal household expenses." Harper sighed.  
  
Data decided it was time to find out about the man in that picture. "Is there no one else to contribute to your financial support? I assume that your daughter was brought into this world with assistance from a human male."  
  
She laughed. "I've never heard it put quite that way. Yes, she had a father. He was killed in a car accident five years ago. That's why I am not going to drive with anyone who is not wearing a seatbelt." She stated firmly.  
  
He had hoped that she had just separated from that man. Still this would mean that Data would not have to explain his appearance in her home to an angry husband.  
  
"I am sorry for your loss, Miss Talenger," he offered.  
  
"Thank you, Commander," she whispered back.  
  
She pulled into the garage and closed the door before she got out. He assisted in bringing the items that she had purchased to the kitchen. "I'll put these away. Why don't you go back to the computer and see if you can find some of the things you will need and where we can find them. What are you going to build?" she asked as he slipped into the chair.  
  
"At this time, I wish only to know what is available. Your planet's level of advancement will limit my ability to proceed."  
  
"Oh, come now...you didn't seem too limited in 1890. The device you created took up your whole bed, but it worked! Surely you can work another miracle with twenty-first century technology."  
  
"I remind you, Miss Talenger, that I would need to either attempt a transmission not only through time but dimensions. I know of no way of accomplish this without knowing the location of a dimensional rift. With that knowledge I could possibly construct a beacon to send a message. Otherwise, I will need a ship. I know that your people have vessels that are capable of escaping earth's gravitation, however I do not believe that they will be willing to let me borrow one."  
  
Data heard Harper laugh from the kitchen. "I imagine that you're correct. So what is our plan?" she asked.  
  
"At this moment, I am looking for...inspiration."  
  
"Good luck, sweetie," she called.  
  
He smiled and yet was confused by this. ~ Sweetie? ~  
  
She entered the room and brought with her a chair. She put it next to his and went back to the kitchen. She returned again with two wineglasses in her hand. Both were filled with a medium red colour liquid, which he assumed was indeed wine.  
  
"Thought we could drink together. I know that it won't effect you, but it will calm me." She set his glass on the desk before him and held hers. "I saw an episode where Lore poisoned you with Champaign once. Do you want me to drink some from yours to prove that it's not poisoned?" She offered this with a completely straight face. He considered her offer for only .48 seconds before deciding to reject it.  
  
"I thank you, but I believe I will trust you until you give me cause to reconsider."  
  
"Then we need a toast. Pick up your glass. I really will taste some if you want me to...ok then, here's to TV shows, technology and timelines. May you find a way to beat them all." They clinked glasses and she sat as she sipped from hers. He took a small sip from his and after identifying all the ingredients; he decided that he liked the flavor. It was sweet and fruity.  
  
Data worked with blinding speed and Harper sat beside him, periodically asking questions and making suggestions. He worked for nearly two hours before she rose to begin preparing her dinner. He continued to work as the house filled with the wonderful aroma of a freshly prepared meal. He declined her invitation to join her for dinner, so she ate in front of the TV with her plate resting on a pillow in her lap. Data knew this because he joined her to watch the news. He sat on the couch and watched the events of the day unfold.  
  
The state of affairs on Earth in the early fall of 2002 was not promising. There were many wars brewing and some ongoing. Murders, rapes, robberies. It was all very depressing.  
  
"Do you watch this every day?" Data asked, during something called a commercial.  
  
"No, only about once a month or less. It never seems to change and sometimes it just gets worse. I worry that we aren't going to make it anywhere near the twenty fourth century if this keeps up. Terrorism is on the rise and no one feels safe anymore. It's hard to sleep at night if you have to worry that you could be killed in your bed before morning."  
  
While he did not sleep as such, Data could relate to the sentiment. He took notice that even some of the commercials showed violent scenes or just ones of questionable taste. He decided to get up and return to the computer. Harper watched him as he walked by her.  
  
She changed the channel to the educational stations she had shown him earlier. He could hear her grumble that she had already seen all of the selections. With a groan of disgust, she got up and headed for the kitchen. He heard sounds that indicated cleaning in progress. He did like that she was neat. Her house was a bit dusty in some places, there were stacks of cases that contained more discs on the wooded frame that held the TV, but everything else in her house was orderly and clean.  
  
She stayed in the kitchen for just under a half an hour and then asked if he needed anything from her at the moment. He considered saying 'Yes, a way home' but reconsidered.  
  
"Are you retiring for the evening?" he asked.  
  
"No, I'm gonna take a bath. Should take about forty-five minutes to an hour. I like to soak. If the phone rings, just ignore it. Gee, I'm gonna have to wear a robe...that's going to be a little strange." She sounded like she was talking to herself.  
  
"You do not usually wear clothing in the evening?" He tried not to sound too distressed.  
  
Harper turned about to look at him, as she had been walking down the hall towards her room. "Yes, I wear clothes. I just meant that.... after my bath I put on my bedclothes and I live alone so I don't have need of a robe. The only visitor I ever have is my daughter and I don't wear a robe in front of her." Data nodded his understanding and turned back to his work.  
  
The hour past and Harper did not return. Even in Data's time, there were terrible stories about people falling asleep in the bath and drowning. This thought caused him concern, even though he was uncertain as to how much his could trust this woman.  
  
Data had not even walked down this hall in the hours he had been here. Four doors lined the hall, two on the left, one at the end and one on the right. Only the one on the right was closed. The two on the left were bedrooms. The first was plain but adequately appointed. The second was decorated in rather a feminine style. He assumed that this had been her daughter's room. The small room on the end was a bathroom, but not the one Harper was using.  
  
Data could not hear any water running, but neither could he hear any movement. Listening carefully, he believed he could detect the sound of breathing, but there was music playing and he was not certain. He did not wish to invade her privacy, but surely just a knock to ensure that she was well...  
  
He knocked...and heard a gasp from the other side of the door.  
  
"Miss Harper?" he called, nervously. He could hear hurried footfalls.  
  
"Yes, is something wrong, Commander?" she called back.  
  
"I was just concerned that you had not returned. It is a known fact that an annual average of 189 deaths are attributed to drowning in...bathtubs in your time." He could now hear a soft laugh.  
  
"I didn't drown. I just made a disturbing discovery." She told him through the closed door.  
  
"What, if I may ask?" he called back to her.  
  
"I no longer own a robe." 


	2. Chapter 2 Is it Data, or is it Memorex?

Chapter 2 - Is it Data or is it Memorex? Disclaimer: TNG and all of Star Trek do not belong to me, but to Paramount....i just wish it did. Sigh. This chapter is still G....worse to come....you have been warned.  
  
Data's eyes went wide, briefly. "Is you bedtime apparel...inappropriate?" he asked, not at all certain that his question was appropriate.  
  
"No, it's cool at night, so I was planning on wearing this fluffy gray jumpsuit thing I have. It covers everything, but I'm tall for a woman and the legs are too short."  
  
"I see. Then perhaps a robe will be unnecessary. The fabric is opaque?" he asked, just to make sure.  
  
"Yes, unless you have x-ray vision and that was never mentioned."  
  
Data smiled. "No. I do not."  
  
The door opened slightly. "Well then I hope I don't shock you." She peeked her head around the door and looked him in the eyes. "Keep in mind, I didn't expect you and I don't typically have men...here." She came out from behind the door and to his relief, she had described her attire well. It was gray in colour; fluffy looking and the legs came to half way down her calves. The part of her legs that were revealed, were well defined and showed no evidence of extra...flesh. Her waist all but disappeared in this outfit, as it was not contoured to fit her snuggly. However, it was buttoned up the front and was missing just one button. The top one.  
  
"Unsuitable?" she asked. The opening at the neck only revealed a modicum of cleavage. He had seen a great deal more in Counselor Troi's daily wear. He could not say that this was unsuitable.  
  
"No. I apologize if I startled you before." Data looked her in the eyes and tried to keep his eyes there. Harper smiled, nervously.  
  
"That's ok. I guess I just got lost in thought. It's not everyday that..." That the man of your dreams pops into you living room, she thought. "You meet someone who you always thought was just a story."  
  
"Nor is it every day that you find out that you are fictitious. May I ask you, do you know anything about the actor who plays...me?"  
  
"You didn't look him up?"  
  
Data shook his head. "There were too many other things to research, but at this moment I find myself curious," he admitted.  
  
"I know some. He was born is Texas, he's left-handed; I've heard that he is very funny. What do you want to know?"  
  
"What does he look like, when he does not look like me?" he asked, point to his chest.  
  
She grinned. "I have one very nice picture of him, but it's on my screen saver and I don't really want you to see the pictures that you didn't see already."  
  
He narrowed his eyes at her slightly and tilted his head to one side. "Other than this picture, are they all pictures of me?" This caused her to blush.  
  
"No, one is of Spiner, there are two of Lore, one of the symbol on your communicator, one of some of the ships and a few are shots taken from the Hubble telescope in space."  
  
"And the rest are of me?" he asked, leading her. She sighed.  
  
"Data, if I had known that you were going to pop into my house today, I would have deleted the picture from the computer, changed the sound, put the box on the mantel away and hidden the discs. I didn't know!" She threw up her hands, helplessly.  
  
"Pardon me, but did you say the sound? The sound of what?" he asked.  
  
She covered her face with her hands. "I really need to get out more..." she moaned. She lowered her hands and smiled weakly at him. "Ok, you have just got to understand...I work two jobs so I can keep my house and all and put my daughter through college. I don't have enough time for a social life. If I did, I wouldn't have the energy or the money. I stay home and write short stories and get involved with all things Trek. Most of those Trek things revolve around you. I guess you could say that it's become a bit of an obsession, but I did not think you existed so I didn't see any harm!" She stalked off down the hall towards the main part of the house and he followed, trying to process all of this.  
  
She was obsessed with him? Data did not know how to react to this. He was truly beginning to believe that she had nothing to do with bringing him here, but if she were mentally unbalanced... He would have to be very careful.  
  
Harper sat before her computer and clicked an icon on the desktop. This brought up the pictures from the screen saver that she had mentioned. She located the picture she was looking for, and pulled it to desktop. When she exited back to the desktop, the image of a sitting man with one knee pulled up to his chest was revealed. The picture was in black and white. The man was wearing a black jacket and jeans. His hair appeared gray. His eyes were piercing.  
  
Data looked back at her and saw that she too was studying the man's image. Her facial expression was blank, but there was something in her eyes that Data could not identify.  
  
"Do you find him to be...do you think he is...attractive?" he asked, not sure why he was asking. She looked up at him. Her expression remained unreadable.  
  
"In this picture, I think he's very attractive. But he's had the same girlfriend for something like ten years now, so I don't think I stand a chance, even if I did meet him." She gave a humorous sniff, but her tone had held quite an edge to it. She looked back at the screen.  
  
"Do you think I am attractive?" He did not truly understand some of what was involved in attraction between the sexes yet. His experience with the Borg Queen had left him very hesitant to ever think about this area of emotions. It even caused him some anxiety to ask her this question.  
  
She looked back at him, her expression was readable now. It was pained.  
  
"I think I already answered that question, Commander." She came to her feet and stared at him as though she could not believe what she had just heard.  
  
"I do not-"  
  
"Please, Commander! Do you really believe for, one minute, that someone would become obsessed with a man they did not find attractive? Well, I think I have been humiliated and forced to bare my soul enough for one day. If you discover that this is just a big joke that Q planned, can you please have him pull you back out of here before I get up in the morning? I have to work tomorrow and I don't think I can handle much more of this!" With that she walked decisively from the room and after entering her room she closed and locked the door.  
  
Left alone, he stared at the door she had just disappeared behind. He needed to conclusively determine whether or not she was responsible for bring him here. Her suggestion that Q was involved was at least feasible. He went back to her computer and noted that the picture of Mr. Spiner was still on the screen, staring back at him.  
  
"How would you handle this situation?" he asked the image of the man who had existed in this realm for longer than a day.  
  
Data heard movement from Harper's room again at 9:02 AM the next morning. She had watched TV in her room until 12:05 last night, but had not returned to the living room. Harper came out still in her nightclothes, looking rumpled and headed for the kitchen. Data watched her put something brown and crumbled looking into a device and then pour water into a hole in the same device. She then touched a button and turned to face him.  
  
"Good morning," he said hopefully. Her expression did not lend credence to that hope.  
  
"Good morning. At the risk of stating the incredibly obvious, I notice that you are still here. I take it you had no luck in contacting Q last night." Harper's tone was not pleasing.  
  
"He did not seem inclined to answer my calls. If you wish, I will find another place to stay until I-"  
  
"Pardon me, but are you out of your mind? I wish you gone, not dead! If you leave like that you're going to be in trouble the first time you're seen by another person. Perhaps whoever sent you here was doing you a favor by sending you to me. At least I won't turn you in." Data looked unsure as to whether he should thank her for that.  
  
"I regret having upset you last evening," he told her.  
  
Harper blushed, but looked sad. "I'm sorry I blew up. I think the  
unreality of this is just difficult to accept. This is very much like  
something out of the movies." Data smiled his agreement after a few  
seconds of accessing. Harper thought of the boy in Insurrection, and  
his reaction to Data. "At least I'm not afraid of you like that Ba'ku  
boy was," she noted, encouragingly. Data looked confused.  
  
"What Ba'ku boy?" he asked. Now she looked confused.  
  
"The Ba'ku kid. They didn't like technology, but didn't need it since the radiation...I think it was metaphysic radiation or something like that...was keeping them all young. You didn't lose more memory engrams from that incident did you?" Data still looked totally clueless as to what Harper was talking about. He smiled apologetically.  
  
"I am afraid I do not know of the Ba'ku. Is this part of the television show that did not cross over to my timeline?" he asked. She looked stunned.  
  
"I guess that could be, but you did go back in time and encountered...the Borg...Queen?" He was not happy about this question, but she had not expected him to be.  
  
"How much do you know about that? he asked, nervously. She grimaced and looked away.  
  
"More than enough...but then I..." she paused and seemed lost in thought. He turned from her, not wishing to think of the events they had just been referring to. "Data, how long ago did that happen?" she asked, eagerness in her voice. He did not turn back to her.  
  
"For me, it has been eight months, two weeks and three days since she was destroyed," he told her in a matter of fact tone.  
  
Harper stared at his back. She was not a counselor, but she did not need a degree in psychology to know that he was still hurting. Eight and a half months ago! Why had he been plucked out of that time? She touched his back. He stiffened at the contact.  
  
"I imagine that you saw Counselor Troi to help you deal with what happened." She tried to sound as sympathetic as she could.  
  
"I do not wish to discuss this."  
  
"Do you still see her?" Data turned around quickly and looked sharply at her. "Counselor Troi, I mean."  
  
"Once a week or if I have a...nightmare." His expression lost some of the edge that it had gained in that last moment.  
  
"Always helps to talk about nightmares. Seems to loosen the hold that they can have on you. I saw a counselor of sorts for a while after my husband was killed. Not the same trauma that you had to deal with, but a trauma. I imagine it has been...difficult." She turned slightly away from him now and he felt sure she was thinking of her loss and not his trauma. It was understandable. Deanna had likened his experience to emotional and physical rape, but he had been able to attack back at his tormenter. He did not know the details of the accident in which her husband had been taken from her; he doubted that she had been able to come to terms with his killer.  
  
Harper looked back at Data after several seconds of inward reflection. "Not exactly what we wanted to think about this morning, huh?" Data shook his head. She smiled gently. "I have to get ready for work. Have to be there by ten. Sorry I upset you." She turned slowly and headed back to her bedroom.  
  
He realized that she had still not told him who the Ba'ku were.  
  
She returned, dressed in black form fitting pants and a short-sleeved white shirt. A black apron and hat were in her hand. She tossed them on the back of a chair and went into the kitchen for what Data now knew was coffee. He recognized the aroma. He was back at the computer, wishing again for the speed of the Enterprise's computer. He would have been done hours ago if this one had just had voice recognition.  
  
"How long will you be gone?" he called to her.  
  
"Until five o'clock. I would have called in but I do a cooking demonstration on the weekends and I had already arranged to have yesterday off. I really can't beg off for today," she called back. She came into the room, large steaming cup in hand.  
  
"I wish I could come. It would be interesting to observe your culture," he mused. She looked down at him and seemed to be lost in thought again.  
  
"You'd need a disguise...or maybe just some make-up. I don't use it much, but I do have some. It may not be you're...colour, but if you are very careful it should allow you to come with me if you want." His expression left no doubt that it was indeed what he wanted. "I see, you're going stir crazy from cabin fever already." It took his several seconds to decipher the meaning behind her words and he came up empty on cabin fever. She explained with a laugh.  
  
He got his first look at her bedroom and bathroom as she thought it would be the best place to apply the make-up. Everything was neat and orderly here as well. There was not much evidence of Star Trek or him in these rooms with the exception of a collection of books that were labeled Star Trek on her bookshelves.  
  
She pulled a peach coloured bag from a cabinet, and opened the zipper to peek inside. She removed a small bottle from the bag, hopped up on the counter, and motioned for him to come closer. With her fingers she applied the make-up to his skin. Her complexion was very fair in sharp contrast to her almost black hair, so the make-up was not a huge contrast for him. After a moment, she handed him the bottle and told him to work on his face and she would get the back of his neck and ears.  
  
He studied the results moments later. He did not think that he looked like the actor who portrayed him in the TV show. Well, maybe a little.  
  
"Do you believe that my eyes will draw attention to me?" he asked.  
  
She frowned. "Probably. But I don't wear contacts or ever glasses so I have nothing to offer you but sunglasses. I think I have some gloves packed away that will fit your hands so that you don't have to put make-up there. Be right back." She dashed away and he could hear her running down the stairs seconds later. Harper returned five minutes and twelve seconds later. A pair of men's driving gloves were in her hand.  
  
"They belonged to Robin, my husband. They stretch, so they should fit. Try them on."  
  
He did. They fit.  
  
"Now you just need clothes. Robin was a bit taller then you, but I think you should be able to find something in his old clothes. They're in boxes down stairs. Why don't you go look and I'll call work to warn them that I had unexpected company last night and will be a bit late. Ok?" Data nodded and headed for the stairs.  
  
"If he wants to go out more, I'm gonna have to buy a lot more make-up," Harper mumbled to herself. She called work and gave them an update. Her friend there asked who had come to visit, but Harper just said it was an old friend that needed a place to stay for a while.  
  
As she hung up, it occurred to her that Data was going to need a different name to go by while he was stuck here. His call brought her out of her musings about a new name.  
  
He was in the hall in a pair of blue jeans and a chambray oxford shirt. He still had his black boots on. He would need some new shoes. A new robe, new shoes for him and make-up...and coloured contacts too. He was going to cost her a small fortune! But he did look handsome in Robin's old clothes. They were slightly long on him, but still...  
  
She walked over and told him to turn around. He did. The jeans fit too nicely in the back. She forced her eyes up and noticed that his collar was not straight. She fixed it and told him to come back to the bathroom so she could touch up his make-up, as this collar was just slightly lower then the one on his uniform.  
  
"You are going to need some new shoes and contacts for your eyes. You look nice though. My store is in a large mall. Can you find shoes and socks without having to try them on?" Harper asked as she completed the touch up.  
  
"Yes. I assume you intend to send me for supplies?" Data asked.  
  
"It'll give you something to do. I hope you have a grasp of our monetary system from your reading," she said hoping she did not have to explain.  
  
"I do," he assured her.  
  
"Good. Please, remember that I'm a poor working-class woman and I was not expecting to have you pop in. I have some cash for you to shop with, but try and find a sale. Think cheaply!" She came to stand back in front of him and seemed to be studying his make-up. She nodded with approval and placed the almost empty bottle on the counter. She sighed.  
  
"If you have any money left after buying shoes and socks, see about more make-up. I need a robe too, but maybe I can find one and charge it during my lunch break."  
  
"Perhaps I can locate a sale and inform you of the location. How long is your lunch break?"  
  
"Thirty minutes."  
  
"That is not much time."  
  
"Nope. Oh, one more thing before we go. You need a name...other than the one you have. A full name. First and last at least. I told my friends at work that I had an old friend here who was in need of a place to stay. They'll ask your name and I can't say Data." He considered this.  
  
"Soong would be the most logical surname," he offered.  
  
"Agreed. I have a suggestion for a first name, if you don't mind. I don't think you will remember this one either, but there was an episode of Trek where you are ah...damaged and forget who you are. You're found and taken in by a man and his daughter. The daughter gave you the name Jayden."  
  
"Jayden Soong. It has a nice ring to it," he agreed, smiling. She too grinned.  
  
"Then I dub you Jayden Soong for the duration of your stay in my humble abode and in my timeline. Now, let's go!"  
  
The car ride was even shorter this time. Harper worked very close to home. With make-up, gloves and sunglasses, Data followed her to her place of part- time employment. She had explained that she had an 'office' job during the week, and only worked here Thursday through Sunday. The store she entered was busy with people and full of a large variety of foods and items used in food preparation. Data had until five o'clock so he decided to look around her store for a while first.  
  
Her co-workers, all of whom were female, greeted Harper very warmly. She introduced him to an older blonde named Betty, a younger and shorter brunette named Susan and a gray haired woman named Linda. They all greeted him kindly, but no one hugged him as they had hugged Harper. She was obviously very well thought of here.  
  
"We missed you yesterday, Chef. The pancakes that Susan made were...less then stellar." This comment came for Linda, who received a glare from Susan.  
  
"I didn't see you offering to do better!" shot back Susan.  
  
"Stop it, children!" ordered Betty shaking her head at her friends. "So, what are you making us today, Chef Harpsichord?" the woman asked, flashing a bright smile at Harper  
  
"Who me? I don't know what you're talking about, I just came to fix the sink..." Harper answered shrugging and feigning confusion.  
  
"You tell her, Tooltime," Linda teased, playing along.  
  
"Tooltime? Harpsichord?" Data questioned.  
  
"I forgot to warn you that nicknames abound here. Betty is called Lips since she's the only one who wears lipstick. Linda is called Sunshine, but since she's a mean old hag, I assume it's an attempt at irony. Susan is called Little Bit and I think that one is obvious as she needs to be lifted to reach the top shelves here." Both Susan and Linda stuck out their tongues at Harper, who just laughed. "And where I was once teased that I didn't have a nickname at all, now I have more than anyone else. Harpsichord and Chef, which is of course due to the cooking that they expect me to do today. There there's Tooltime, because I'm considered...mechanically inclined." She blushed and held up her hands to fend off any questions he might ask her about this. "Of course, I'm no Commander Geordi LaForge..."  
  
"Oh God! Here she goes on her Star Trek kick. Please, just go cook." Betty pleaded, rolling her eyes. Harper laughed at this and gave a confused looking Data a pat on the back. She headed for the storage room, turning back, she called for Data to come with her.  
  
Digging into her purse, she handed him eighty dollars. "Remember, sales! Ok?" she reiterated, Data nodded and assured her he would. Linda, who was also heading for the back room, eyed this transaction, suspiciously.  
  
"Remember your disguise, don't touch your face and don't allow anyone else to either," she cautioned. He nodded.  
  
"I cannot think of a reason one would have for touching my face."  
  
Harper smiled slowly, her eyes drifting down to his lips. "I can," she mused, but turned quickly away and headed for a door marked 'Stop, employees only!'  
  
Data remained in the store, observing, for a while longer. He watched Harper set up for her cooking demo and watched as the customers flocked around her. She was cooking marinated chicken on an indoor grill and had bottles of the marinade to sell. Even in the short time that he watched her, the bottles practically flew off her display. She was very good at her job.  
  
One by one each of her co-works came to sample her handwork and each walked away with a nod of approval. Data decided he too would take a sample, as not doing so may appear out of the ordinary. Harper grinned and handed him a small piece of the meat on a toothpick. He was not accustomed to consuming real animal meat, but when in Rome... It did have a pleasing flavor.  
  
He left soon after and went to complete his mission for shoes, socks and whatever else he could purchase from their list with the funds that Harper had provided. He was able to find the first two for a good price and had enough left for her robe. Data knew she had instructed him to also buy additional makeup, but he had an alternate idea with regards to that and he had found a store that had a 'sale' on robes. He made note of the location, as he did not know what colour she would favor.  
  
Packages in hand, he returned to her store to tell Harper of the location of the 'sale' and return her 'change'. She gave him the car keys, asking him to put his bags in the van. When Data returned, Harper was ready to accompany him to the robe sale. She picked out the dark blue one, and after buying it asked him to take it to the car so she could go back to work. Less break time meant more money and he was an expensive houseguest, she told him.  
  
Once the packages were in the car, Data was without a mission. He decided to simply sit on the bench outside of her store and wait until five o'clock. He could observe people and think about what he should do next. At 2:17 PM, Linda came out of the store and after spying him on the bench, came to talk to him.  
  
"So, how long are you going to be visiting?" she asked casually, puffing on a cigarette. Data suspected that while Linda's tone was casual, her question was not.  
  
"Unknown at this time," he told her vaguely.  
  
"I know that it may be none of my business, but I saw Harper giving you money earlier." Her tone now hinted at accusation.  
  
"I needed some new shoes and socks," he told her.  
  
"And you don't have any money of your own, I suppose."  
  
"No," he agreed, reluctantly.  
  
"And no job?" she asked with obvious contempt.  
  
"No," he admitted, confused at her sudden animosity.  
  
"Listen friend. I don't know how you know Harper or what kind of friendship you have with her, but she has a kid in school and lots of bills. She is not a free ride or a meal ticket. So unless you find a job real damn quick, I would suggest you find someone else to leech off of. We're all kind of tight here and if we find out you're trying to take her for a ride; we'll be on you so fast your head will spin. You got me, friend?" she asked, tersely.  
  
Data did not understand half of what she had said specifically, but he believed that he understood her intended message. He would have to repeat what she had said to Harper later to be certain. For now, he nodded at Linda, silently.  
  
Get a job. He would have to look into this. If Harper's funds were truly that limited, he could be placing her in hardship. And he had not even purchased the first thing towards the plan he had for building a devise that could detect multi-dimensional time rifts. This angry woman was correct. He was going to have to find a way to earn funds. In 1890 he had played poker to win money. He doubted that he would be able to employ that strategy here and now.  
  
"What is the most efficient way in which to secure lucrative employment?" he asked Linda.  
  
"What can you do?" she asked, skeptically.  
  
He wondered if she would believe his answer. "Almost anything," he replied.  
  
"Are you better at mental or physical labor?" she asked, looking for a clue.  
  
"Either. I am stronger than I appear. And I learn very quickly." These were both understatements, but she need not know that.  
  
"They always need help around this mall, but the pay is very low. If you have any special skills you should probably just check the want ads. I hope you're serious, Jayden. Remember what I said." She gave him an intense look and then walked away from the store.  
  
Once her shift was over, Data drove Harper to pick up dinner for her and then they headed home. He did the driving as Harper was very tired. Data assured her that he would follow all the driving rules and would not attract the attention of local law enforcement. Once home, Harper told him that he could store his things in the guest bedroom and consider it his for the duration of his stay. Data thanked her and later, eagerly modeled his new shoes and socks for her.  
  
He convinced her into allowing him to clean up after her dinner so that she could take her evening bath. Harper thanked him and promised not to drown. Harper returned thirty minutes later sporting her new robe and wet hair.  
  
"I love baths...and while I love the people I work with, I hate work. It's good to be home." She reclined on the couch and closed her eyes with a sigh. "So, what do you think of my backwards culture, Data?" she asked without opening her eyes.  
  
"Intriguing."  
  
She giggled. "I should have guessed."  
  
"I do have several questions." He retold the events of his conversation with Linda and she sat up quickly. She expression was grim.  
  
"Sorry about that. It's a trend in our time for men to prey upon lonely women and offer them companionship and the illusion of love in order to con the women into financially supporting them. I wouldn't be a good choice for that though. I don't have the money. What else did she say?" Harper asked, trying to change the subject, slightly.  
  
"Linda suggested, rather firmly, that I get a job. From my research yesterday, I am already aware that a social security number and some form of picture identification would be required. I have neither of these items." Data sounded as though he was unsure how to feel about that fact.  
  
"We could claim you're an alien!" she joked. "You know, from another country," she grinned brightly at him.  
  
"South America!" he replied grinning too.  
  
"Now you've got it!" she was laughing even harder. When they stopped laughing, she sighed. She got up and came to stand in front of him. He had taken a seat in the chair. "It would help if you could get a job, but it would also increase your risk of exposure. The first thing we have to do is find some way of making you look human...and I have a crazy idea." She said smiling.  
  
"So do I," he informed her.  
  
"You first. You're smarter," she conceded.  
  
"If we use a latex based paint rather than make-up, it would be harder to remove." She looked startled.  
  
"Paint. I never would have thought of that. You're going to think I'm nuts, but I just would have assumed that it would have bothered you skin. I keep forgetting that you are an android. You're just too real..." She reached out and brushed his cheek with the back of her hand. He had washed off the make-up in the other bathroom during her bath time, so he was his usual golden colour again.  
  
Data wondered how she could say that while looking at him with his android skin colour showing, that she forgot what he was?  
  
Still, it was.flattering.  
  
"What is your crazy idea?" he prodded.  
  
"You'll laugh."  
  
"Should I?" he inquired.  
  
"I hope not, but you probably will. Now, while I know the function of the items that you brought with you, I don't have any idea how they work or what components go into them. But I was thinking about this problem while I was at work and let my imagination run wild. And I came up with this. There is a cartoon about humans who've been genetically mutated. They all have special abilities like telepathy, telekinesis and so on. Anyway, they're all young and still going to high school, so they have to fit in. One boy is so mutated, he's blue and had a tail and I think only two or three fingers. Well, in order for him to appear human, this man, a father figure, gave him this special watch that's not a watch. It's really a device that creates a holographic image of a human that covers the kid's body. With this he can go anywhere." Harper wondered if she had explained this properly, but hoped Data got the idea.  
  
By his intrigued expression, she decided that he had.  
  
His eyes were moving back and forth at an alarming rate. It almost made her dizzy to watch him. A huge grin slowly creeped across his charming face.  
  
"Is it a crazy idea?" she asked, hoping against hope.  
  
"No, in fact it is an ingenious idea. While this time period has limited holographic capabilities, I believe I can supplement what your world cannot supply with components for my communicator and tricorder, just as you suggested." Data finally focused on her again to see the proud grin on her face. "Why did I not think of that?" he asked, almost to himself.  
  
"Because the old saying is true, Data. Two heads are better than one!" He grinned and nodded his complete agreement.  
  
"Then we should focus on the next dilemma. How to go about securing employment for me."  
  
"You're not going to like what is involved in that, my dear Data...or rather you ethical sub-routines are not going to like it. You'll have to lie, cheat and most likely hack into computer files to create a false history for yourself," Harper told him, hesitantly.  
  
"You are correct, I do not like that."  
  
But he found after some checking that he would have little choice.  
  
"Look at it this way, Data. The only thing you are lying about is who you are and where you came from. You have to lie in order to comply with the Prime Directive."  
  
"Yes, I have been forced to do something similar to this on other occasions. I just do not have to like it," he recalled. Harper laughed.  
  
Data found that he would be able to create his false back history, but he would need another computer so that his forgery could not be traced back to Harper, if it were discovered. It took some planning and money, but he created a device, that when activated, would help him along in his efforts. It would allow him to infiltrate the computer systems of key government areas and all he had to do was have it near, but not connected to, another computer with Internet access.  
  
Wednesday evening, after Harper had returned home from her full time job as an office manager at a computer components manufacturing company, the pair headed back out. Their destination was the downtown library. It took a long time in weekday traffic, but Data had estimated that it should not take him longer than twenty minutes to accomplish his task, if all went well.  
  
Harper left him alone at the library and went to the closest restaurant to have some dinner. Data joined her not quite forty minutes later.  
  
"I was getting worried that I would hear sirens and see flashing blue lights soon. How did it go?" she whispered as Data sat down across from her.  
  
"The connection from the library was very slow. Each command took longer to execute then expected, but I was successful. I should have a new social security card sent to the post office box we set up for me within two weeks. I will then be able to apply for a driver's license and finally a job." He looked very pleased with himself.  
  
"Watch, you'll get all that done and on your first day of this new job, we'll come home to find three of your fellow officers in my living room demanding that you return....and I end up in the poor house."  
  
Data knew that Harper was very concerned about all the money that he had been forced to spend of hers in order to accomplish this first task. And the holo-disguise was next.  
  
He reached his gloved hand across the table and patted hers. "I will do my best to ensure that I do not cause you to end up in the poor house, Miss Harper."  
  
As he drove them home, Data decided that it would be best to begin work on the holo-disguise the following day, while Harper was at work. When they returned home just after eight o'clock, Harper took her bath and came out in a red nightgown and her blue robe almost an hour later.  
  
"I'm beat, Data. I'm going to bed." Harper had come to the kitchen table where he was dismantling the device he had used hours ago, but would no longer need. Placing a hand on each of Data's shoulders, Harper gave them a squeeze and said good night.  
  
"I am sorry that our efforts this evening required so much time. I know you prefer quiet evenings. I will endeavor to complete the next outing during your work hours." Data turned slowly to look back at her, as she remained silent. Harper was still standing with her hands resting on his shoulders. Data noted that her robe had not truly been necessary this evening as her gown was made of a thick knit material that came to half way down her calves. Her feet were bare again. Absently, he wondered if they were cold. Did she need a pair of house slippers? Had he been spending so much of her money that she could not afford a pair?  
  
Suddenly he found himself on his feet and before her. He was only three and half inches taller then her, but as he was wearing shoes and she was bare foot, he felt as though he towered above her. He took hold of her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.  
  
"I would like to ask you for your forgiveness, Miss Harper. I no longer believe that you had anything to do with my arrival here. Will you forgive me for doubting you?" Harper smiled for only the third time this evening. Her mood had not been good this day, and Data knew that it had been due to their late night activities.  
  
"Yes Commander Data, I will forgive you, but I really didn't blame you for your uncertainty. I would have felt the same way had I been in your shoes. Oh, and speaking of shoes, you're going to need another pair. Most businesses require proper attire, just like Star Fleet...and your new athletic shoes are not going to fit the bill."  
  
Data looked down at his shoes. "I promise you that I will reimburse you for everything that you have purchased for me. I have no intention of 'leeching off of you', as your friend Linda suggested." Harper laughed and shook her head.  
  
"Linda is a good person, really she is. She's just not someone who waits to find out the worst in people; she hunts for it." Harper began to blush even more. "You know...she's even given you a nickname now, but you won't like it." Data raised an eyebrow and waited. "Bad company."  
  
Harper would work her full time and in addition, her part-time job today. As soon as he heard her alarm go off, Data made her coffee, readied her lunch, and then went to apply his make-up. She appeared behind him in the smaller bathroom to help apply the make-up to the back of his neck and ears. Her soft fingers on his neck, gently rubbing the liquid into his pores felt...nice. He had also thought that her hands on his shoulders last evening had been pleasant.  
  
Data pushed this train of thought out of his mind and focused on the events that he must look forward to.  
  
"I think you should reconsider and allow me to drive you to your evening job tonight. I will wait for you to finish there, walk you to the car and drive you home. I am concerned with the reports of a violent attacker in the area. I do not like the thought that this attacker could be-"  
  
"Data, there is security all over that mall at night." Harper interrupted. "One guard sits by the bank drop-off and a police car is always patrolling the parking lot at closing. I'm probably safer there than I am at home." He turned around and gave her an indignant and wide eyes stare. "I mean...oh, you know I'm not awake yet and that's why you're picking on me. I think you like driving." She forced him to turn back around so that she could finish his makeup.  
  
"I feel it is my responsibility to keep you safe."  
  
"I'm a big girl, Data. I've been keeping myself safe for five years now. I don't need any help. You just concentrate on getting home and paying your debts...sorry, I'm just nervous about the bills we're going to incur today. Can you tell?" She tried to grin and laugh, but he sensed she was even more nervous about this than she let on.  
  
"I will try to find all the sales I can," Data promised, trying to relieve some of her anxiety.  
  
Harper sighed. "Thanks, Data. The credit card I'm going to give you has a ten thousand dollar limit and is empty. Try not to max it out," she pleaded.  
  
Data tried. The components he needed were not inexpensive, though. He had been able to find all he needed however and felt certain that he would be able to construct the holo-disguise. By the time his identification cards were in hand he would be ready to find gainful employment.  
  
He picked Harper up that afternoon and drove her to the cooking store for her evening there. She ate the dinner that he had bought for her while he drove. She looked tired and drawn. She did not seem to be sleeping well and it was catching up to her. He had to get this plan into action before he caused her to lose one of her jobs!  
  
The disguise took a full week to build, test and modify. He had other tasks to see to during that week as well, so he could not devote he full attention to it. He had taken to preparing her evening meal on the nights when she only worked the one job. He also did her laundry, or at least some of it. She refused to allow him to wash certain articles of her clothing and he reluctantly abided by these limitation. Still, Data wanted to help out as much as he could. After all, Harper was tired when she came home from work and he was never tired.  
  
"Data, I'm home," Harper called to him as she pulled her key out of the lock and closed the front door. It was nine thirty on Friday evening and she could not see him in the kitchen. He was always at that table working or on the computer. Where was he? She looked out on the back porch...empty. She went back into the house and headed down the hall. The door to his bedroom was closed. Was he sleeping?  
  
She had gotten on to him about not taking the time to activate his dream program. As a sentient and emotional being, he needed to dream, she had reminded him.  
  
"I'm sure that Counselor Troi has spoken to you about that," She had said. Data had admitted that Troi, indeed, had. "Then go to sleep once in a while! It's not going to kill you to stop working for a few hours. And as dreaming keeps us mentally healthy, I don't want a crazy android running around my house!" He'd opened his mouth to assure her that he was not going crazy, but she had just pointed to his bedroom.  
  
That had been four days ago. Was he actually listening and sleeping again? Harper knew that he was missing his family and had hoped that he would dream about them and feel a little better. But dreams would not replace the real thing.  
  
Harper stood outside Data's bedroom door and listened for a moment.  
  
Silence...  
  
He was home, wasn't he? Suddenly she felt a cold wave of panic enveloped her. Had his tampering with the social security computer been discovered? No, the house had been locked and nothing looked out of place.  
  
Had he been pulled back to his timeline?  
  
"Data, are you sleeping?" What a dumb question. If he had been and answered, then he wasn't any more...  
  
"No, Harper. I am not sleeping. Come in, please." She was so relieved to hear his voice, but she still felt strange going into his room. His being in there helped, but...he sounded odd.  
  
She slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. Her jaw dropped when she looked inside. Standing in the middle of the room was...Brent Spiner! Well, it looked like Brent Spiner.  
  
"Data?" she asked, nervously.  
  
"Yes, Harper. It is I. Do you like the holo-disguise?" he asked eagerly. He was pleased at having surprised her. Weak kneed, Harper moved to sit on Data's bed and studied 'Brent's' image.  
  
"Turn around," she told him. He complied. She started to giggle. The hologram he had created caused him to look just like the picture of Spiner in the picture that she had shown him on his first day here. He was in colour though, with white pants a black shirt and a leather jacket in brown. His eyes were sparkling blue. "Ok, you know you can't go around looking like him....Data. And why would you have given yourself gray hair?" she tilted her head to the side and looked at him expectantly. "But your reproduction is perfect, of course," she conceded, graciously.  
  
"You said the he was attractive in that picture. And he did have gray hair in that picture." He reminded her. She was grinning at him.  
  
"Yes, but you are not him. He just plays you on TV and thinking about this could give me a headache. Why don't you try and look like your father? Not when you saw him but a young version of Noonien, or just you with human skin tone and blue or brown eyes. Glad to see that you got it working though. Congratulations!"  
  
'Brent Spinner' looked slightly disappointed and then he shimmered...and disappeared.  
  
"I will have to make some minor adjustments," said the familiar gold toned man.  
  
Harper got up from his bed and came over to him. He had popped open a place on his forearm to reveal the holo-imager. She had intended to pat him on the other arm, consolingly, but something caught her attention.  
  
"You have hair on your arm," she exclaimed, stunned. He looked at her, confused.  
  
"Yes, is there something wrong in that? I have observed that most human males do have a fine layer of hair over most of their body. I am able to grow hair on the majority of my body. The major exceptions being my palms and the bottom of my feet." He studied her expression looking for clues as to her opinion of this information and her reaction to what she was still staring at. "Is my arm hair aesthetically disagreeable?" Data asked, disconcerted.  
  
"No," Harper said, jerking her head up to look at him. She was blushing.  
  
"May I ask what you are thinking?" he asked. She still looked distant even when she looked him in the eye. Was she lying to him?  
  
"I'm not sure you really want to know."  
  
"I do," he affirmed. Her cheeks grew even redder.  
  
"Your comment about being able to grow hair just about everywhere...made me curious as to where you chose to grow it. Never would have thought of that, if you hadn't mentioned it. Sorry, not trying to invade you privacy...I was just surprised to see the hair and-" she stopped herself here.  
  
"I did not intend to embarrass you. I have chosen to grow varying amounts of hair on my arms, legs, the tops of my feet-"  
  
"Data! I don't think it's really any of my business where you have hair." She had her hand up as though she were fending off his words. "I was just surprised to see it. They never showed you with any body hair in the television show." She looked helplessly lost for a way to get out of this situation.  
  
"While I am aware that most humans are hesitant to speak about certain areas of their physical anatomy. I have not always fully understood the reasoning behind this. As I have been exposed to cultures that have vastly different opinions on related subjects, it is at time difficult to determine the proper behavior. I do believe, however, that I understand why you are blushing."  
  
She looked shocked and very nervous suddenly. "I guess I asked for this. Why do you believe I'm blushing? And I am not blushing, I think I have a fever!" Her expression caused Data to doubt she even believed this last claim. He reached out and touched her cheek. Her temperature was not elevated her pulse, however was another thing. He shook his head, but noticed that at his touch, she had gasped slightly.  
  
"Your temperature is not elevated sufficiently to be considered a fever," Data informed her, with an amused grin.  
  
"Then all of the blood vessels in my cheeks must have suddenly decided to burst," This comment was so ridiculous that Data found himself chuckling softly.  
  
"If you keep trying, you may contrive an explanation that I will believe," he said with a laugh. "I believe that you are blushing, Miss Harper, because our conversations could be seen as having sexual connotations. As you are an unmarried female who is now living with an unmarried male, as I hope to be perceived, this could cause assumptions about our involvement to flourish. Any action on your part that could be perceived as even minutely sexual could cause you embarrassment in this case. But as no one else is here and I have no intention of repeating our conversations to outsiders, you need not worry." He hoped his statement would relax her. It did.  
  
She smiled up at him and now reached out to give his the arm squeeze that she had wanted to give him earlier. "I don't care what others say as long as it doesn't go too far. People talk. It's the nature of the beast. But speaking of those people, you're going to have to look like Jayden. My friends at my second job have seen you, so you can't look too different or they'll think I have two men living with me. Then I will have rumors!"  
  
He considered and nodded. Data had thought of this, but had truly wanted to see what her reaction would be to the Spiner hologram. Harper told him a great deal about some aspects of her feelings about Star Trek, but her 'obsession' with him, she had only mentioned and would not explain.  
  
Why would she be obsessed with me, he wondered.  
  
As Data modified his holo-emitter to project the image that he had originally programmed, he considered her and her professed obsession. Harper's behavior towards him since his arrival had not seemed particularly...flirtatious. She rarely touched him and usually did so with a specific intent. Perhaps the imaginary bore little similarity to the reality and she simply had lost her obsession when confronted with the real thing.  
  
It was most likely a good thing if Harper had changed her mind. The wounds from his encounter with the Queen were still too fresh and he did not believe that he was ready to begin a romantic relationship at this time. Not that he had ever felt particularly ready for one.  
  
Footsteps behind him alerted him to her reappearance. She had fixed her dinner and after eating quickly had retreated for her nightly bath. She always seemed so much more relaxed and in brighter spirits after her nightly trip to the tub. It made Data wonder what could be so enjoyable about sitting in a hole full of water.  
  
"Still working?" she asked, looking over his shoulder.  
  
"Fine tuning. I have incorporated enough memory so the emitter can store more than one image. I take it that you would not approve of the one I created of Mr. Spiner?" he asked, conversationally. She laid a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I think Mr. Spiner would object to that one. You're fine just the way you are, but you can't go out that way here. If you want to play and look different, then look different. Pick features that you admire off of others like Riker has nice eyes, Worf has good height, and Geordi has a great smile. Pick and put together someone new."  
  
"I will consider it," he affirmed with a nod.  
  
"Glad you got it working. We were running out of makeup again," Harper noted.  
  
"Then the timing is fortuitous in that respect as well as a...relief for me."  
  
"What do you mean, Data?" Harper asked, moving to stand by the side of the table so she could see his face. He looked reluctant to explain.  
  
"While I understand the necessity of my former disguise and I have...appreciated your assistance in it's application, I have not enjoyed the maintenance nor the endurance of that need." Harper did not seem to understand, so he tried again. "I do not like wearing makeup. I do not care for how it feels on my skin," he admitted.  
  
Harper grinned at first, but her grin progressed to a giggle and then a full laugh. Data's expression changed one of confusion.  
  
"Sorry Data, it's just kind of ironic. You don't like the makeup required to look like Brent Spiner and he doesn't like the makeup required to play you."  
  
Data grinned too. "Then it would seem he and I have something more in common."  
  
"So it would seem!" Harper agreed, reaching over and patting his arm. "Now, If you're gonna be in here for a while, I'd like to steal back my computer for a while."  
  
"Steal back?" Data repeated.  
  
"Well, you have kind of taken possession of it since you got here. I miss my computer."  
  
"I will then allow you to steal it back from me for the remainder of the evening," He looked sideways up at her and grinned, teasingly.  
  
"You have to be the kindest, most giving man I have ever met. Thank you so very much!" she replied, her words dripping with saccharine sarcasm. Chuckling, she headed for the living room.  
  
Harper could not bring herself to work on any of her stories with Data just yards away, but reading someone else's should be ok. She clicked into the Star Trek archive and looked for a story that struck her fancy. She found a run of parodies and began to read. She was stifling side splitting laughter in seconds.  
  
She was scanning for a new selection when Data entered the room. Harper sighed.  
  
"Is this acceptable, Harper?" he asked, and activated the holo-disguise. The only things that changed were his skin colour and eye colour. His hair and clothes remained the same.  
  
"That's perfect. You going to work up one for play or stick with this one?" she asked, curious.  
  
"I have that option. But I think I will refrain from the exploration of that kind of play at this time. May I ask what you are looking up?" He could see the titles to five different stories and their rating, but nothing that was on the screen pertained specifically to him alone.  
  
"I am just feeding my Star Trek fixation. It has been starving lately. Which is odd since you're here, but that's a whole different ball of wax. This is a fan fiction site. It had stories written by fans about anything relating to Trek. You can sort the stories according to what you want to read and even comment to the authors if you want."  
  
"Amateur stories?" he asked, turning off the holo-disguise.  
  
"Yes. Written for fun."  
  
"What does P/C indicate?"  
  
"This story mostly revolves around Picard and Dr. Crusher. It also usually means that the story had them romantically involved. It's just for fun and most are not something that you would find...upsetting, but some you would. Some I find upsetting and I try to avoid those. I was just reading the ones that are intended to be funny."  
  
"What do you find upsetting about some of the stories? And what does NC-17 indicate?" She'd hoped he wouldn't ask about the first, but expected the second.  
  
"I don't like it when they have anyone behaving contrary to how they have been established as behaving. It bothers me when they have someone behaving violent who never has before, or acting sexually aggressive towards someone that they would not normally even find attractive in the show. Stuff like that. NC-17 means that it has enough violence and/or sexual content to be unsuitable for children to read."  
  
"Why would the captain behave violently towards Dr. Crusher?" he asked appalled at the concept.  
  
"I'm sure he never would in your timeline, sweetie, and I tend to doubt that he is in this story either, I would hazard to guess that it had that rating for sexual content."  
  
"You have not read this story?" Data asked and Harper shook her head. "You just read the humorous stories?" She sighed again and just looked up at him like he was missing the obvious. He had seen this expression on enough faces over his years to now recognize it. "There are stories about me included in this archive?" he asked. Harper nodded, but covered the mouse and the up and down keys with her hands so Data did not have access.  
  
"Yes, but you are not going to read them!" Her tone was more commanding then he had ever heard from her previously...even more than when she had pushed for him to use his dream program.  
  
"Why? Surely you can understand why I would be curious."  
  
"Oh, yes. I can easily understand, but some of these fall into that 'doing what they would not normally do' category. With your abilities there is a great deal of temptation to create a situation where you would actually use them...and not necessarily for the greater good." She stood up and in doing so, forced him to step back away from the computer. She took hold of his arms and looked sternly into his disturbed eyes.  
  
"Please, Data. I beg of you. Do not read them," Harper pleaded.  
  
"But you have read them? You think I would be capable of-"  
  
"No! And I have not read most of them. I like the happy ending stories. There are some that feature you making a new friend or meeting and becoming involved with a female." She released his arms and put her hands on her hips.  
  
"Sexually involved?" Data asked, stunned, but not yet disturbed.  
  
"Well, yes. I know that you may not believe this, but the commonly held opinion about you is that it's difficult for the female fan base to believe that you haven't had more than one girlfriend. Jenna was nice and I understood her reasons for breaking up with you, but with your chip it's hard to believe that you would not be fighting the women off with a stick." His expression went back to one of worry and surprise.  
  
"I would never do that either!" he defended and Harper started to laugh. 


	3. Help wanted: One Computer Geek Android n...

"Oh, Data. I know that. It's just a silly expression. It means that...well...it's a compliment. The female fans think you are cute enough that the girls should be beating down your door and in order to fend them off you would need a stick. It's a joke and a compliment." Understanding gleamed in his eyes and his shoulders relaxed. 

"Compliment though it may be, it is nonetheless untrue," he commented, with a hint of regret. She tilted her head in an attempt to recapture his eyes.

"Then maybe the women of your time are not as discerning as they have led us to believe. In my timeline, you're gonna need the stick. I'll make you a bet. Once you do get a job, I bet within a week you have at least one woman flirting with you. At least one, more likely more than one." He looked intrigued.

"In a bet, there has to be an amount wagered. What is the wager?"

"Dinner. Loser pays. You'll have a job then so you could pay. Deal?"

"Deal!" he agreed and they shook on it. "However, if I win I would like a different prize." 

"Ok, I guess that's fair. You don't need the food even though I know that you enjoy tasting new foods. What do you want for a prize?" 

"I would like to attend a Star Trek convention. I have read about them and I understand that some of the actors from the show attend as guests." He looked at her, hoping for conformation.

"Yes, but you just missed the big one here in Atlanta. It was last month."

"Did you attend," he asked.

"Yep. It was fun. Saw the guy who played Mr. Homm and two people from Voyager."

"Mr. Spiner was not a guest?" he asked, and she laughed.

"I don't think he ever comes here and I doubt he ever would. We're on the wrong side of the USA for him. Actually most of the Next Generation actors don't come this far, though they may all show up for the ones in California. We can look, but even if you win the bet, and you ain't, it would take time, money, or some traveling. We are shy on most of those things. The traveling would require both of the other two. We can still look, but it may have to be a small Con." 

"Mr. Spiner does not come to this area at all? I will have to research the areas that he does visit. Perhaps I can find a location closer than California." 

"What are you up to? You thinking about going up to him and telling him how to play you better? You can't be thinking about telling him who you are?" Harper saw in those golden eyes that this was exactly what he was thinking about. "Data, you can't do that. He'll freak! He's not going to believe you are who you say you are!" She was almost shouting, but there was no malevolence in her voice and she was grinning. 

"You believe me." He reminded her.

"I have to believe you! I've seen you open your head for God sakes! Are you going to let me talk you out of this, or should I give up now?" she asked him. She could be very reasonable when she wanted to be. 

"You should give up now...and I am not so sure you will win this bet." She narrowed her eyes at him, suspiciously.

"You planing on cheating? I qualify this by saying that if you are your normal sweet, charming self that you're going to have a trail of women after you. I warn you though, that you're not to bring any of these hot dates home with you. You'll have to conduct you dating at their house. If you come home, you come home alone." She waved a finger at him as though she were lecturing to a child.

He just sighed at her. "I believe your warnings are premature as I am not ready to date, Harper," he said firmly.

"What do you mean you're not ready to date? You're free, gold and over twenty-one. Why would you think you aren't ready?" She decided that she was tired of standing next to her computer and since this conversation showed no signs of slowing, she tugged on his arm and pointed towards the couch and chair. They sat while Data formulated his answer. 

"I was still seeing the counselor once a week. She did not consider me...healed." He hoped she would understand. Her eyes held much compassion.

"I know I'm no Deanna Troi...by any stretch of the imagination, but I know how to listen." Data did not know what to say to this. He had been working with Deanna for over just over seven months. Troi had not been able to convince him into relaying what had happened to him, initially. He did not know if he could retell it to Harper...or did she already know? She had commented that she already knew more than enough. How much was enough? Data was not sure he knew how much would have been enough had he been able to choose when the Queen had stopped her attempts at seduction. Her attempts had proven successful in more ways then he wanted to admit. 

"This was covered in an episode?" he asked. "My encounter with the Borg?" His voice was so close to a whisper, that she sat forward in her chair to hear him.

"No, it was a motion picture for the theater. Sort of like a-"

"A movie," he stated, there by letting her know his was aware of them.

"Yes, it was a movie." 

"May I see it?" He would not meet her eyes. She couldn't blame him.

"No," she said softly. "You know what happened and I remember what I saw of it. No need for anyone here to see it again." Her tone was certain, but kind.

"I simply wish to know what you saw. In the episodes I saw, there were omissions of certain events. They did not show Tasha and I engaging in...I assume that was deleted for the unsuitability for children?" He looked at Harper and she nodded, a slight red glow was in her cheeks. 

"Was the comparable items of my encounter with the Queen also omitted?" Again she nodded.

"Hinted at, but not shown. The same as with Tasha. Although they did show the...well they showed where she gave you the skin, activated your chip and blew on the new skin. They showed you escaping, getting hurt and then her cornering you. It cut away once you were...kissing her and pulling her closer." Oddly, her voice seemed to be breaking as she spoke of these events that had happened to him. She was shifting in her seat and the expression in her eyes looked...haunted! 

She was upset that he had committed those acts with the Queen. Was it jealousy or revulsion? Was she repulsed that he had...done what he had felt he had to do? 

"I had to make her believe that her attempts to seduce me were proceeding as she wanted." Data informed her tersely. 

"I am aware of that," she conceded. 

"Your expression is not one of understanding," he informed her. She got to her feet and walked across the room. At her mantel she picked up a figurine of a female child, holding the number six. She stared at it as she spoke. 

"I felt like what she did to you stole your innocence from you. Even after the chip, you still had a childlike quality about you...from what I could glean from the movies." She put the figurine back and turned to look at him. "You are no longer as trusting. I still think you don't entirely trust me. I think you're wise to have at least a reservation, but I know why you have one." She was not done, he sensed. She sat back in her chair and looked at him.

"You liked the kiss, didn't you?" Harper asked. He almost gasped. Deanna had asked him this too, but not quite so flatly. 

"I...did. I tried to turn off the chip. But she had taken control of it. The Queen would not allow me to deactivate it. She kept coming closer. She told me that I should have ripped the flesh from my arm. But she knew I could not. She was coming closer. I could not allow her to gain control of the ship. I would not allow her access to the encryption codes. She was too close. I could no longer back away. She asked me how long it had been since I...since Tasha...she said it have been too long. I could not control my emotions!" Data's ramblings had caused him to go from shame to panic. He experienced a moment of shocked fright as a hand touched his. He pulled his hand away, but focused and saw that somehow Harper was now at his side. 

"It was compelling," Harper said, pushing him to continue. He did not want to continue. He had been terrified, but...

"Yes, it was...compelling. But she was not human. She was Borg! She wanted to use me and manipulate me!" There was venom in his voice. 

"But you were not angry then, Data. I wonder why she didn't replace the skin on you lips. You would have found a kiss with that skin even more compelling. True?" Did Harper know what she was doing? Did she know what she was saying and how it was affecting him? Data could not help himself. He answered her query. 

"Yes," he hissed. "I asked her to," he admitted. He hated to admit this. How could Harper know this? How could she have guessed? Had she guessed? Was this in the movie? He grabbed her arm. His grip was firm, but he knew he was not hurting her. "How do you know this? Was my asking her in the movie?" he demanded. 

"No, it was not in the movie."

"Then how did you know?" He pulled her just two centimeters closer, his gaze was penetrating. She did not show the slightest fear.

"Because, had I been you, it would have been the first thing I would have asked for. And if she was going to manipulate you, why couldn't you manipulate her right back?" Her reply stunned him. He stood up, and as he was still gripping her arm, she was forced to her feet. 

"You were not there, Harper! You cannot empathize with me. You are not even an empath! Counselor Troi cannot identify with what I experienced, how can you?" His biting tone caused her to flinch finally. He could not believe that this was happening. He hated talking about this! Harper knew more than she should and more than he wanted her to know. This experience had practically ripped him in two. And this woman that he barely knew...he had only known her for...she could not understand...Data wanted to shake her, but he would hurt her if he did. He took hold of her other arm and demanded her answer. 

"No other person who cared about you was there. But that does not mean that no one can understand. Temptation is not always easy to resist." She was speaking clearly and slowly, in a soft and gentle voice, but her words ripped at him like the Borg drone had.

"You believe that I allowed her to win? No, you believe that she did win and I succumbed to her seduction?" Data was furious! He pulled Harper up on her toes.

"Yes, you were tempted. You even admitted that to the Captain! You did do whatever she wanted you to do! Why? You could have told her no. You could have turned from her kiss. You could have rejected her advances. But you didn't. Why?" Venom entered Harper's voice and it shocked him for a second, but Data was too enraged to stop. 

"I have not had the women knocking down my door as you said, Harper." he seethed. "I have always been capable of the act, but not always the emotion. Now I am capable of both, but it had still not been offered to me. What she offered...was closer to it than anything I have ever before had. You cannot understand this. You were married, Harper. You had love. You were loved and as you have a daughter so I know that you had the act and the emotion." How could she think that she understood!

"Exactly right, Data. So I know how wonderful it is to have a lover touch me. Have him kiss me and tell me, he loves me and loves my touch. And five years ago I had my heart torn from my chest. He's dead, Data. You just miss what you've never had, but I know what its like and I pray you never have to feel your life slip from your fingers in the blink of an eye. One moment...and I went from wife to widow. We went from a happy family to victims of a tragic accident.

"What you suffered had purpose. You where torn between the emotions she stirred in you and your duty to your timeline, but you triumphed! I gained nothing but a hole in my chest! You had a goal and it was a personal struggle to attain it, but you did! Now, are you going to rip my arms out of their sockets or are you going to let my circulation return to normal?" 

"I..." He released his hold on her. Her steely gaze softened only slightly. "Do you believe that it is wise to invoke the anger of an android?" he asked her, feeling the waves of fury subsiding.

"If you were Lore, no. But you are not Lore. You may have wanted to rip her arms out, but I am not the Queen. She hurt you and confused you, Data. As I said before, I'm not Deanna, but I can still listen." With just a finger, Harper reached up to his face and brushed Data's cheek. She pulled her hand away again, as though it had not been what she meant to do. She withdrew from him and sat back down in her chair. Harper's expression was forlorn. Her eyes, once again, looked haunted.

"I believe that you have listened and spoke enough for one evening. You are tired and need your rest. Perhaps we will speak of this another time." Data remained where he was as he spoke. 

"You sound like a mother hen. I need my rest, do I?" she repeated, coming back to her feet. "Well, I think you need your...dream program." She turned away and headed for her computer. Sitting down, she exited the archive and shut the computer down. Rising, she turned to look at Data again. He had moved to follow her, still thinking about their 'talk'. 

"I'm going to check the locks and turn off the light. You can go on to bed, Data. I'll be going to bed after I'm done," she told him. He wished the vacant expression would leave her face. 

"I believe that is the customary duty of the male of the household," he noted. 

"Only if he owns the house. This house is mine, remember? I'm not going to stay up, now you go on to bed. I-" He was not moving and she was too weary to fight him. "Fine. You're gonna go to bed?" she asked, making sure. He nodded. She turned and headed for the hall. 

Data checked the door locks as he had seen her do each night. He usually knew if they were locked even before she checked, but he had been in his room when she had come in from work tonight. He needed to talk to her about working less, but he doubted that she would listen at this point in time. He turned the lights out and headed for the hall...only to find her waiting by her door. She was leaning against the wall, staring off into nothingness. 

"Why are you waiting for me, Harper?" he asked. There was still a slight edge in his voice. 

"I don't know. Just wanted to make sure you were alright, I guess." He stood before her and she was staring at his right hand. "Well... not alright...but, not angry with me for pushing you into that. Actually, maybe it's alright even if you are angry with me, just not angry with yourself. You should-" 

"Harper, you are babbling. I do this at times, so I recognize it. I am not exactly sure how I feel at this moment. Perhaps we should both activate our dream programs and see how we feel in the morning." He had hoped that before she parted from him she would look him once more in the eyes.

She did. 

She tilted her head to the side, grinned and looked up at him. 

"Sweet dreams, Data," she said and reached out to just touch his right hand. He took her hand gently in his. He had touched her so harshly earlier. He hoped she would forgive him if she were upset over that. He gave her hand a light squeeze. 

"May your dreams be pleasant as well, Harper. Good night." He let his hand fall back to his side. She smiled again and with a final nod turned to enter her bedroom and close the door. 

Harper walked away from the door that cut her off from Data. She listened and did hear his door close. 

She let the tears flow. 

She did not sob. No sound escaped her lips, but the streams of salt water fell as if unending down her cheeks. But who were her tears for Data or herself? 

Harper had wanted to do more that just touch his cheek or hand. She had wanted to take him in her arms and tell him that one day he would be alright and the wounds would heal. It was the caretaker in her. She had always been the caretaker. And now her desire to make Data feel better about the crimes that had been committed against him overran her own strong feelings for him. 

She knew that her methods were likely vastly different the Deanna Troi's but she had learned the sometimes it wasn't good to pull your punches. Robin had always been a hard shell to creak when something was bothering him. She had learned how to determine if she needed to chip away at his veneer or break it with a sledgehammer. 

Melody had grown up to emulate her father in this area. Whenever Harper needed to be sure that she got a hard message across to the girl, she knew that she had to bring the girl to tears with powerful and meaningful words. She could not pull her punches with Melody either!

And Harper had felt that she had needed to punch hard with Data tonight. Her statement about the kiss had almost been like a blow. He had even grabbed at her in an initial desire to vehemently deny her accusation. But Harper had been through that scene in her mind over and over again. Harper was fairly sure she knew of the conflicting emotions Data had experienced in those hours. 

But reaching a long awaited goal in the arms of evil...at the risk of all of humanity...the very people who had created and tended to him. The temptation had been strong, but in the end he had to have realized that the very emotions that he craved were not within the being that professed a need for an equal. 

The android who had believed himself a stranger to emotions was already far superior in his assimilation of them than all of the Borg. 

He would have eventually come to that conclusion and as he could think at warp speed compared to Harper's sub-light, she suspected that he found this resolution with much greater speed than she could even imagine. 

Harper went to her bathroom and looked in the mirror. Her reflection did not penetrate her thoughts. She still saw Data's face...one amber eye, one blue...half his hair neat as always, half waving out of control and brushing his forehead, the Queen at his side. 

"He will make an excellent drone." 

The words had been spoken of Jean-Luc. The captain had been shocked. Certain in that moment that he had lost one of his closest and most trusted friends. But Data had fooled them all. And in fooling them had saved some and destroyed others. 

But part of him had been sorry she was dead, because he had wanted the feelings she had forced him to feel. Harper understood how easy it was to drown...to want so desperately to completely immerse yourself in those feelings and sensations.

"But we all eventually have to breathe. Even you, Data." 

Her own face slowly came into focus and she could see the unnatural expression there. No wonder Data had thought she needed rest. She was busy trying to help him and he stops her in order to take care of her. But Harper was not used to being tended to...and she was resisting. 

Resistance is futile...

She smiled to herself. Maybe it really was in this case.

Data sat on the edge of his single bed. The images that Harper had invoked and the emotions that came with them...still tormented him. 

He hated the memory! Had pushed it away only to have it return to his consciousness and attempt to overtake it. 

The Borg Queen.

He hated her! He wanted to hate her... but he could not cause the emotion to be linked to her in his mind. The Queen invoked strong emotions in him. Fear, terror and a desire in him that he desperately wished to deny. 

"Do you really want to forget that feeling, Data?" Deanna Troi's voice echoed from his memory. "Is the feeling so horrible?" She had asked...

"She was using me! Just trying to gain the codes."

"Yes, but I was not asking about her. I was asking about the feeling. What do you think about the emotions you experienced?" She had crossed her legs and leaned forward, studying him. 

"It was the wrong thing to feel."

"Was it?" 

"My friends were in danger, I-"

"I want you to forget about anything else, Data. I want you to push the dangers and stakes aside for just a moment. Close your eyes and tell me about the feelings you experienced. She is in your arms and you are kissing her...what do you feel?" 

"No! I do not wish to remember her in my arms!" Data had almost shouted at the counselor.

"Then just remember the emotions, Data. The emotions. I can feel them in you. Why are you trying to deny them?" 

"Because it was she who invoked them," he admitted, in defeat. 

"And that invalidates your right to feel them?" 

Data compared the things that Deanna had said to what Harper had said...and what she had caused him to say. 

He had wanted that kiss! But not with the bitch that had offered it! He wanted the feelings...but why was she the first to force them out of him? 

For months following this event, all of Data's friends had been on pins and needles around him. Deanna had been anxious and Geordi had just seemed at a loss for what to say. Most did not know the details of what had taken place, but they knew it had been traumatic for Data. 

All had tried to offer their love and support in their own way, even the Captain, but Data had felt worthy of none of it. 

He missed his friends on the Enterprise. They were the only family he had ever really known. He had not failed them...but it felt like he had. 

Because he had been tempted. 

'Temptation is not always easy to resist...' 

'Resistance is futile...'

It had not been futile, but it had been hard to muster.

Data got to his feet and went across to the bureau. He opened the drawer and drew out his pajamas. Harper had brought them home one day last week for him. It was part of her argument that he needed to activate his dream program. He held them up and stared at them. 

Black as pitch. 

Black and as empty as her heart...No, the Queen did not even have a heart...but then neither do I. 

Here I am agonizing about heart felt emotions with no heart with which to feel them...but the heart does not truly have anything to do with emotions. That was just an ancient misconception originated by humans even before the time I am in now. 

Data returned to the bed and pulled off his shoes. He put them carefully by the corner of the bed. His sock and the rest of his clothes went into the hamper, he would wash them tomorrow. Or maybe he would wait until Sunday. His clothes were in dark colours and the work clothes Harper wore for her second job were also dark. It would be a full load of clothing if he waited.

He sighed. 

It was much easier to think about washing clothes than the topic he and Harper had been discussing...

He got into his pajamas, suddenly realizing that he was standing there naked! 

Curiously, the comment Harper had made about him having hair on his body came back to him. She had seemed so surprise by the sight of his arm. He found himself smiling... She had studied him for years, but she had not known this simple fact. 

Pulling back the covers, he got into bed. He switched off the light and lay down. He listened and could still hear Harper moving about. She was in her bathroom. She was walking back and forth. Was she as troubled by the evening's revelations as he had been? Or was she still worried about her financial situation? 

Yes, that made sense. She had been worried about that for a while now, but she would have relief from that soon. Come Monday morning, Jayden Soong was going to find a job!

Saturday morning Harper woke early. She never woke up earlier then Data did, though. She could smell coffee, and...cinnamon? She came out of her bedroom in her pj's and robe, belting the latter as she came into the kitchen. Data was bent down in front of the oven, staring into it through the window. He looked like a little boy waiting eagerly for cookies to bake. 

She didn't try to stifle the giggles. 

"My hero! You made coffee!" she said, turning to pull a cup from the cupboard. Data looked up and grinned at her, but did not come out of his squat. 

Two seconds of that position and my knees would be screaming! Big turkey, he's never going to have to listen to his joints make noises that they shouldn't make, she mused. 

She went to put sweetener and milk into her cup before getting coffee. 

"Ok, you got me...why are you staring into the oven, Data?" Harper looked down and sipped the wonderful caffeine laced warmth. 

"I am making certain that your cinnamon rolls do not burn," Data told her, looking up and seemingly asking for approval. She laughed again. 

God, but he was precious!

She bent down next to him and peered into the oven. She couldn't smell them strongly yet and usually if she could, it meant they were done. But she could smell him....

Harper always tried to stay far enough away from Data so that she couldn't catch even a hint of his distinctive scent. She would have had difficulty describing it if pressed, but his decisively male, slightly sweet scent was unmistakable. The house had already become permeated with it, except for her room. Harper half wished she could think of a reason to swap a bed pillow with him so that she could have his scent in her room too. 

"I'd say we have another five minutes," she said coming out of her squat. "Unless you keep watching them, then it will take forever." Data looked up, confused.

"Why would my watching...are you equating this with the same reasoning that causes humans to believe that a watched pot never boils?" he asked. She grinned and nodded. Data came to an instant stand. "Then I will refrain. May I ask a favor of you, Harper?" he asked, looking down at her contented expression. Coffee made her way too happy...

"You made me coffee and breakfast, for that I am your willing slave...at least until I wake up enough to come to my senses...What can I do for you, Data?" 

He chuckled at her very odd statement before pointing over to the computer. Harper looked confused, but moved with him into the room where the device resided. 

"You told me last night that there were stories that you had not found objectionable that revolved around me. Will you allow me to read some of those, please?" 

His features took on that familiar child-like expression and Harper noted that didn't see this as much as she would have expected...influence from the chip?

"I should have known...You promise to only read the ones I pick for you?" she asked, suspiciously. 

"I will not lie to you, Harper. I find myself very curious about the opinions of the people in your world with regard to the people in mine. Can you not understand this?" 

"Of course I can, Data, but you're setting yourself up for a fall. There's stories in there that gave me nightmares and I'm not the one in them!" 

His expression intensified. "Why did they give you nightmares, or are you exaggerating?" he asked, eyeing her.

"One was frightening and cruel. I can't even think about it without...shuttering," she whispered, and did indeed shudder. 

"What happened in this story?" he asked, insistently. 

"No, don't even think I would tell you." She shook a finger as him. "I hate thinking about it, but I can forget. You can't and you'll want to, believe me." Data didn't look convinced, but he was breaking. "It involved pain and torture and years of suffering. And you were the one doing the suffering." Harper took hold of one of Data's hands, wrapping it in both of hers. "I can still see the image of you backing away from people how love you, in pain and afraid. I hate that image, Data. I don't want to give it to you. I care about you. When you go home I want you to remember me as a friend, not as someone who showed you great ugliness. Please, don't read it if I ask you not to." She was begging him.

"You are trying to protect me." 

"Is that wrong? It is part of friendship, isn't it?" she questioned.

Data wondered at her, thinking about the story she had partly described and pondering her reference to his feeling pain, physical pain. He put his free hand over hers. She turned her head and looked towards the kitchen.

"Data," she said, suddenly grinning.

"Yes?" 

"The rolls are done." 

"How do you know?" 

"I can smell them," she said with confidence. He released her hands and moved swiftly to the kitchen, sniffing. She was right. Cinnamon filled the air. He opened the oven, grabbed an oven mitt (she hated it when he did not use one) and pulled the perfectly baked rolls from the oven. He presented her with a freshly iced roll and napkin minutes later. 

"You're an angel, Data. Thank you." She gave him a pleasant smile and pointed to the chair she had pulled up next to hers. He sat as she took a bite of her roll and made happy yummy noises. "Ok, I approve of this story, it cute, funny and unfinished. So keep that in mind." Harper brought the story up, and with her cursor on the scroll bar, pulled it down, fast. She looked back at him and watched as he processed what he had just read. To bad that he could read so fast that she couldn't see his facial expressions in reactions to some of her favorite parts of this story. 

"Do you believe this story is possible?" he asked. It was a rather cut and dry love story. No missions, no bad guys, just Data, a girl and lots of laughs. 

"Sure, why not. Assuming that you make it back, that is. Why? Don't you?" Harper asked, confused.

"I...the humor was enjoyable. The female portrayed seemed friendly, interesting, and funny..." Data looked uncertain and uncomfortable

"But? Gee, the first one and you're upset already. What bothered you about it?" Harper prodded him.

Data looked at her, making a face. He was not eager to say whatever was on his mind. "I...am not capable of...something that occurred in that story," he admitted hesitantly.

Harper thought over that story briefly. She had only read it once, but had liked it well enough that she was fairly certain she would remember if there were...Oh! The spontaneous...physical response. She had forgotten about that part...well not really.

"You mean when the Data in the story...reacted to her flirting?" he nodded with a sheepish grin on his face. "You've got to be kidding me." She said flatly. 

He raised his eyebrows. "I am not. I can activate the appropriate programs, but it is not an automatic response." He informed her emphatically. 

"It should be!" she assured him. "Can you rewrite it? You're always saying you want to seem more human, well human men react like that. Now, I think most men with a personality similar to your, if there are any, wouldn't have reacted as quickly or with as little provocation as the Data in the story did. She didn't even kiss him! But a kiss usually does produce that kind of reaction in a man. Especially a first kiss." 

"Why? The first kiss in a session or between a new pairing? Why would subsequent kisses not produce the same effect?" 

Harper smiled. He really was curious about everything.

"A first kiss between new pairings. Those are the most exciting, because its new. Kissing girl "A" is not like kissing girl "B". Each will kiss differently and the fun is in finding out what the differences are and what you like about each. As you become used to someone's kisses, it may not invoke the same reaction since the mystery is gone." He absorbed this. 

"I can alter my program to react in this manner, but is it not inappropriate?" 

She shrugged. "I guess you do have a point there, but maybe the best thing to do is to wait until you have a girlfriend and then you may want to talk to her, or Counselor Troi for consultation." Data accepted this and put the matter aside for the time being. 

Harper showed Data several more stories, including one that she thought was 'iffy' but most of the iffy stuff involved Lore and not him. They discussed the pros and cons of each until it was time for her to leave for work. He talked her into letting him come with her so he could use his disguise and further interact with the people of her time. She was not hard to convince. 

Harper worked and Data wandered around the mall. He was given her credit card in order to buy 'work' shoes and anything that he would need to complete his 'professional' look. Her friend Linda eyed him and she observed the transfer of the little plastic card. The older woman did not look impressed. 

"She supporting you in a manner that you would like to become accustomed to, Bad Company?" Linda asked Data later, as he sat in the same bench where he had encountered her before. Linda made no effort to disguise her contempt. 

"I regret that Harper has had to support me financially to any degree. But I hope that it will come to an end very soon. I intend to look for a job on Monday morning." Data found that he did not like being called 'bad company'. His first nickname, and it was a demeaning one. 

"Is that right? What was your hurry? It's been over two weeks hasn't it?" He nodded. "She running out of beer money?" 

"I do not drink beer. Harper drinks wine and I occasionally have a glass if she offers one. She is concerned about the money I have been forced to spend, but I did not have the proper clothing. I intend to reimburse her fully for all she has done for me. I never intended to be a hardship for her." 

Linda narrowed her eyes at him and puffed on her cigarette. 

"Get a good job, and treat her right, Bad Company. She deserves a good man to take care of her, not one who will try and suck her dry. And by the way, a gentleman opens doors for ladies." She turned, put out her cigarette and went back into the store. 

He had tried to open doors for Harper, but she seemed to balk at his attempts. He would have to redouble his efforts. Obviously her friends still believed he was mistreating and using Harper. Data strongly disliked having this perception of him flourish. 

Data waited for Harper to clock out and when she came out from the back room, he took her apron and keys from her. She gave him a quizzical look. 

"I will drive you home. You are tired, Harper." Data waited as she said good-bye to all her co-workers and he waved himself. They did not wave as enthusiastically to him as to her. But Data did manage to get the door for her.

"Ok, spill it, you're acting weird, Jayden." Harper said his assumed name since they were in public. 

"Your friend Linda is of the opinion that I do not treat you properly." 

"She thinks Bad Company needs to hit the road and never come back, but she has no idea what is really happening. Mr. D." She tried to assure him that she did not feel the same, but he decided to insist on opening the doors for her anyway. 

Data worked at the computer on Sunday while Harper was at her second job. He made a mental list of all the places that he would visit Monday morning after he dropped her off at her full-time job. He still did not have his identification cards, but Harper told him that as long as he knew the number, and he did, then he should not need it until he was hired. 

Sunday evening, he washed their clothes and talked with Harper while she ate the dinner he had prepared for her. He was a bit nervous about the morning, but he was excited too. He had been forced to fudge somewhat on a resume, and had also been forced to cover his tracks by hacking into other computer systems, but his work should hold until discovered and it was possible that it never would be. A briefcase that had once belonged to Robin held Data's printed resumes, but nothing else. He had practiced some interview scenarios with Harper in the living room until she was laughing so hard that she could not continue. 

"I'm sorry, I would hire you!" she said, trying to defend her having said that he was hired as soon as her "interviewer" character had shaken Jayden Soong's hand. She laughed again and tears were filling her eyes. "I know how smart you are and you are certainly easy on the eyes, even with your disguise on. I'd hire you." 

"You are supposed to be pretending not to know me! What do you mean 'even with the disguise on'? Is there a flaw in the projection?" he asked, looking at his hands and turning them over. 

"No, it's just not...Data. But I guess it has to be Jayden. Ok, ok, I'll try harder this time. I promise." 

He should not have let her have that second glass of wine... He got back up and pretended to come in for an interview. As he walked across the room, her eyes followed him. He shook her hand and turned to take his seat on the couch. 

"I guess this would be a bad time to say 'Nice ass,' huh?" she asked and dissolved into giggles once again. Data turned back and gave her an indignant glare. 

"Yes, it would be the exact wrong time!" he replied, astonished. "If I do not succeed in this endeavor, it will be due to a lack of preparation." He looked at her accusingly, but she did not stop laughing.

"Make sure you have female interviewers, and you'll get a job. And I'll win our bet all in one fell swoop." She gave him an evil grin and leaned to her right, making an exaggerated attempt to get another look at his derriere. He gasped and quickly sat down. 

"You know, this may not prepare you for job hunting, but is important to know how to handle sexual harassment. And with that ass, you are going to need the knowledge." She was still grinning, but had stopped laughing." Data rose from the couch and came over to her chair, looking down at her. 

"You are behaving an a manner I deem inappropriate. If you fail to desist I will be forced to take this matter to your superior," he told her firmly. Recognizing that this was still role-play, Harper came slowly to her feet looking him intensely in the eyes. Her whole manner seemed to have changed. The way she moved, the look in her eyes, all seemed...dangerous. 

"I will just claim that it was you who made advances towards me, but if you just come across we can keep this between us. I am friendly with the supervisor...I can put in a good word for you. Come over to my place tonight and don't bother to bring any pajamas, you won't need them." Harper's tone and manner was not like any he had ever seen from her before, and she was not laughing. 

"Are you role-playing now, Harper?" Data asked, wide eyed. 

"Yes," she said, still eyeing him with sultry gaze. 

"You are much more convincing with this one," he noted, nervously. 

"More interesting role..." She took a single step towards him, but they had not been far apart. She ended up with her body pressing against his. His eyes went wider as he wondered how far she was going to take this. He could feel her warmth penetrating his clothing. She grabbed hold of his arms and with her face an inch from his she spoke, her voice was as suggestive as her words.

"It's quiet here and no one can see, got any ideas on what we can do, lover?" 

"This is unacceptable behavior. I insist that you desist." He told her, shock clearly written all over his face.

"You have to do better than that, Data. If I were truly intent on having you, I would have kissed you already. This is not eight months ago, but you need to react. Now and decisively." Her words pulled him out of his shock.

"I am married and my wife is very jealous. I would not wish her to injure you. She has a very acute sense of smell and if she detects your scent on my person I cannot be held responsible for her reactions." Harper took a step back and looked up at him in amazement. 

"Very good! But you're never gonna get a date if you start telling people you're married. I give you full marks for originality, though." She yawned and put a hand on his chest. "Sorry I didn't help, more, hon. I'm tired. I'm going to bed. See you in the morning, Data." She patted his chest and turned away. 

"Good night, Harper," he called after her. He could still feel the warmth from her hand and body in his chest. He sighed heavily, but felt oddly let down. 

Monday went well, but Tuesday was even more promising. Data had been able to work out only two interviews Monday, but he had five on Tuesday. When he drove Harper home, he told her about all of them excitedly. He told her that he did feel as though he were getting a good handle on what to say and what not to say, but when they asked him his biggest fault the only thing that ever came to mind was that he was not human. This, of course, he could not say. 

"Tell them that you're too demanding of yourself. Say you strive for perfection."

"You make me sound like the Borg, Harper," he complained. 

"Good point. Say you're nervous in certain social situations. Like when you housemate stands too close to you. Makes you get all scared and tense." She had sunk down in her seat and had closed her eyes. If it had not been for what she had just said, Data would have though her angelic. 

"Perhaps my housemate should stick to playing the interviewer," he suggested.

"Nice ass," she said with a yawn. 

He just could not win! 

Data went to get the mail from his post office box while Harper waited in the car. He came back very excited. His new social security card was here!

He got back into the car and handed the envelope to Harper. "Will you open it for me, please?" 

Harper ripped it carefully and pulled the official card free of the envelope as Data pulled back into traffic and headed home. 

"Jayden Lee Soong. Sounds nice. Why Lee, Data?" she asked, looking from the card to the man driving beside her. 

"I needed a middle name." He said simply. 

"You know my middle name is Leigh, don't you?" she asked. 

He gave her a meaningful smile. "Yes, I know."

"My mother had a thing for the book 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. You named yourself Lee because of me? I think I like that." She grinned at him and looked back at the card. 

"Can you take your lunch hour to drive me to the department of motor vehicles tomorrow?" he asked. He needed his driver's license. 

"Sure, Lee. But how are you going to get back? I'll have to go back to work before you're done." Data didn't seem worried.

"I will walk back. It is only five point three miles and I do not tire as you do."

"Just don't pull a six million dollar man routine and run back." 

"Six million dollar man?" 

Thursday evening, Data was at home watching the news and working on updating his list of employment prospects. At exactly seven twenty three and seven seconds the phone rang. 

"Good evening," he answered politely. 

"May I speak to Mr. Jayden Soong, please?"

Data smiled. "Speaking." 

After hanging up the phone, twenty-minutes later, Data put on his casual shoes and headed for the door. Harper would be home in just over an hour, but he wanted to tell her now. He could have called her, but he wanted to see her expression. After locking the door as she had cautioned him, Data put his keys in the pocket of his jeans and began to...jog. 

It was very slow at the mall this evening and Harper and Betty were sitting out front on the bench just outside of the store. No customers had been about for over ten minutes, so they had retired to the "veranda" as this bench was affectionately called. Betty was telling Harper about her 'significant other' and how he had been suffering with the flu so severely that he had even slept in their recliner for two days. 

"The bedroom is very quiet at night without any snoring." Betty confided, with a grin. "Love the boy, hope he gets better, but I do so sleep well in that bed alone," she said as though she were bragging. Harper rolled her eyes.

"And I use a white-noise maker so I don't have the silence," Harper commented with a groan.

"What? You still haven't enticed Mr. Jayden into your bed? If he's expecting you to put him up, the least he can do is put out for the lonely old widow woman..." Betty teased and poked her with an elbow. The older woman giggled and after a short glare, Harper joined in the giggle. 

"I should be so lucky...No, I've been a good girl and have stayed away from his bedroom at night, not that I haven't been sorely tempted. God, you saw him in those jeans last week. I guess I should 'fess up to teasing him about his nice set of buns..." Harper admitted, with a sigh.

"You're kidding? Out loud?" Betty joked.

"Yes, out loud." Harper said, giving Betty's leg a playful smack. "You would've loved it, he got really green around the gills that night." Harper grinned at the memory.

"Just better hope he doesn't decide to go back to his wife." Betty warned. Harper had needed a reason for Jayden to be staying with her and so down and out. Being thrown out by a wife was the only thing she could think of at the time. Harper had added that it had been because Jayden had lost his job and that this had been in Kentucky. The divorce was in the works, but not final yet. No kids and no pets. The perfect houseguest, except that in reality he may as well have shown up naked for all the good his uniform had done him. 

~ Stop thinking like that! ~ Harper warned herself. ~ Don't think about him naked! ~

"I don't think he'll ever go back to his wife. She doesn't want him and he doesn't want her anymore. It's awful not to stand by your man when he's down on his luck." I should have been an actor... I could have played Deanna...Ha! Harper tried not to laugh out loud at her foolish thoughts.

"Well, then I guess the road's clear and you should-" 

"Harper?" came a call from their right, cutting off Betty's words. Harper stood, she knew that voice. What was he doing here? He was running, but of course not out of breath. She would have to mention that to him. If you run, you breathe hard!

"Jayden, have you been practicing your 'Six Million Dollar Man' imitation again? What are you doing here?" Harper walked to meet him just in front of the door to the store. He looked ecstatic about something. He grabbed her upper arms and beaming from ear to ear, told her that he had just gotten a job. Harper's eyes went wide. Jayden had been watching an old movie earlier and he had seen this man pick up his female friend and swing her around. It had looked like fun, so Jayden picked Harper up from just under her arms and swung her around. 

"I have a new job and I start Monday morning!" he said loudly, but not shouting. Harper gave a delighted laugh as he swung her. He brought her back to the ground and she threw her arms around his neck. Jayden concluded, not for the first time, that he very much liked hugs. 

"This calls for a celebration, but we're too broke to celebrate!" she said with a happy laugh. Betty came over and shook Jayden's hand, adding her congratulations. 

"We will not be broke when I receive my paycheck. I will need a bank account, will I not? We will celebrate on that day. I will receive my wages at the end of this month. It will not be a full check as I will be short four days, but I believe you will be pleased." Both women nodded at this mouthful. 

"I take it you found a decent job with a decent wage?" Betty asked.

"I believe that if Harper agrees to allow me to make restitution in equal payments every two weeks I shall have my debt repaid by the end of my third pay period." Betty did not know how much Jayden owed Harper, but she knew that it had Harper up at night worrying. 

"A month and a half?" Harper exclaimed, "It would take me years to pay off what you owe me and you say it's going to take you a month and a half? What kind of a job is this?"

"A damn good one, if you ask me," commented Betty. Jayden smiled.

"Yes, I believe so. It is a damn good job. It may take less time, but I will have to see how my department does with their productivity at the end of the month. Bonuses are based on this and other factors, but productivity is 72.3% of the equation." Jayden was very enthusiastic. He seemed like a kid in a candy store. 

A customer finally came into the store, so they all went back inside with Jayden still talking a mile a minute about his responsibilities, goals and the opportunities for advancement within the company from which he had accepted employment. 

"Wait one second," Harper said, after the customer had been helped and had left the store. "Are you saying that this was not the first offer you received?" Jayden shook his head. 

"The first two were inadequate for our needs," he stated succinctly. 

"Our needs?" Betty repeated, glancing at Harper. 

"I am sorry, Miss Betty, but I was referring to Harper and myself. If I mislead you to-"

"Jayden! What she means is...what do you mean by 'our'?" Harper snapped.

He seemed confused by her question. "I must repay my debt to you, but I do not believe that my responsibility ends there. As I am living in your home, I am partially responsible for it's upkeep. You have a need for repairs on the side of the house were there is damage to the siding. The garage door is bent. I may be able to fix it without assistance, but if it is required, I will contribute to its replacement. There is a leak in the basement. The couch has a tear-"

"Ok, I get it. The place is getting run down. I've been broke for a long time." Jayden smiled and put a reassuring hand on Harper's shoulder. 

"Then it is past time to fix you." 


	4. Chapter Four – Dating, Deborah, Omnipote...

Author's note- Paramount still owns everything and I'm only dreaming here. This is a work of fiction and any similarity to anyone living, is because they have the misfortune to know me and got dragged into this story. Any similarity to anyone dead a just a coincident.

Thanks to- DSBS, Takara and Yillara for beta testing this story. 

Chapter Four – Dating, Deborah, Omnipotent beings 

Harper won their bet. 

Jayden Soong had been an employee of Comp-Tech for four hours when lunchtime rolled around. Harper had packed Data a lunch and insisted that he eat it in public. 

"Try not to let everyone know you're an android on the first day, ok?" 

Data had teasingly promised to wait until the second day, but then had needed to go fix the mess she had made of his hair in her exasperation. But teasing Harper was enjoyable and Data had no intentions of discontinuing this new practice. If she could tease him about his...backside...then she was also fair game!

So, he sat in the lunchroom and ate a ham and cheese sandwich, an apple and drank a coke.

"The woman" sat down at his table when he was half way through with his ham and cheese. 

She introduced herself and shook Jayden's hand, welcoming him to the company. She smiled; laughed at things Jayden said and gave the best representation of coy mixed with brash he had ever seen. He was polite, informative and...uninterested. He made certain that he did not flirt with her. Data decided that if he had not made this bet with Harper, he would not even have noticed that the woman was flirting with him. 

Strange!

Data did not tell Harper on the first evening home of the events in the break room. He wanted to make sure this actually was flirting, as he so believed, before declaring Harper the victor. But the woman, a blonde, Deborah by name, came and sat with him for lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wednesday evening, Data told Harper that since her office was only two point eight miles from his (one of the other reasons he had chosen this job), he would like to meet her for lunch on Thursday afternoon. He would drive over and they could eat together.

"Now how am I going to win our bet if you go into hiding at lunchtime?" she teased. 

"You have already won," Data confessed.

"What? Don't tell me, you slept with her and now she won't leave you alone. Are we going to need to change our phone number?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"While it has only been a short period of time that you have known the 'real' me, I believe you have discerned that I am not a 'one night stand' kind of android." 

"Why can't you just say 'guy' or 'man'? You've said male before, although you usually qualify it in there somewhere. I know I sometimes forget that you're an android, but isn't that the point? In that sentence your gender was relevant, not your construction. Does your ethical program kick you if you say 'man'?" Harper asked.

"It has." Data informed her. 

"Does it now?" At his helpless look, Harper said, "Say that you are a man...use it in a sentence to describe yourself."

Data sighed. He was disquieted when his ethical program was in conflict. It was one of the things that caused him a discomfort similar to what humans might describe as pain. It was not the same, but it was not enjoyable either. 

"I am a man who would like to have lunch with Harper Leigh Talenger tomorrow," he stated. 

"Well?" 

Nothing. Not even a twinge.

"I am human," Data closed his eyes and shuttered at the onslaught begun by his ethical program. "I am not human. I am an android," he corrected quickly. He sighed as the clamor died down. It really gave him fits with that one. Lying about being human was very hard for Data to do. 

"This man owes you dinner, and as soon as I am able, I will pay that debt. Do I get to pick where we go or do you?" he asked, noting that once again, no alarms were going off. 

"I think I'll let you pick, only because I'm curious as to where you'd choose to go. You get paid at the end of the month?" Data nodded. Harper stood up and went to her calendar, it featured Classic Star Trek characters, so it did not bother Data, even though he had met both McCoy and Spock, who were pictured this mouth. 

"Ok, the thirtieth is on a Monday, why don't we plan on going out Tuesday? In the restaurant world, Tuesdays are usually slow, so we should be able to get a good table and all. Sound good?" she asked Data, leaning around the wall so she could see him still sitting at the kitchen table. 

"Agreed," he said. Harper made a mark on the calendar and came back to the table. 

"Ok, you side-tracked me briefly, but I don't have that bad a memory...tell me how I won the bet, Mister-never-had-women-knocking-down-my-door. First, what does she look like?"

Data described Deborah and told Harper her name. He then answered questions that led to a near complete retelling of every word he had exchanged with the woman. Harper was less pleased with her victory as the tale unfolded. 

"So, you've had lunch with her all week and you're just now telling me?" There was a hint of accusation in her voice. 

"I was not completely certain that Deborah was truly flirting until today," he admitted, reluctantly. Harper seemed appeased, but only slightly.

"What happened today? Is she sexually harassing you?" Harper asked, concerned.

"No, she suggested that she and I get together this weekend. I believe that she asked me out on a date," Data confessed, hoping Harper would not throw him out of the house. Harper could be very reasonable and logical when she wanted to be, but she could also be very...emotional. 

"What was your answer?" Harper looked as though she were awaiting the outcome of a court martial. 

"I declined her invitation. I am planning to fix the leak in the basement, repair the garage door and we have to borrow your friend's truck in order to purchase the replacement siding. I will not have the time for social activities this weekend." Data's expression gave no indication that his decision had been based on anything other than practical considerations. 

"And why are you wanting to have lunch with me tomorrow?" Maybe that would give her some clarity as to his motivation, she decided. He suddenly looked nervous. Data rose from his seat and taking her empty plate, headed for the sink. He was such a neat freak!

"I think it would be best to be unavailable at lunch time for the next few days." 

~ Oh, no. He's not getting off that easily, ~ she decided. 

Harper got to her feet and came over to the sink to help him straighten, but mostly to study his face. She grabbed the sponge and wiped down the table. "You didn't like her, Data?" Harper asked, trying to put forth a casualness that she did not feel. 

"She is a pleasant person."

"I didn't ask if she was pleasant, Data." 

He turned to face her, his expression, open and honest as ever. She hated the things he usually said when he took on this expression.

"Why do you wish to know, Harper? Do you believe that I should have accepted her invitation?" he asked. 

Harper sighed inwardly. Next time he looked like that, she made a mental note to run! She had been trying so hard to corner him and had ended up cornered herself. Damn!

"None of my business. Jayden Soong can see whomever he wants to and go wherever he wants to, whenever he wants to." She nudged him aside so she could put the sponge away. He turned to look her in the eyes.

"And what about Data, Harper?" he asked, seemingly just curious. 

He was better at this than she was, damn him! 

"Mr. Data has obligations to me that he needs to satisfy. Once that is accomplished, he is free to do as he wishes. You're not property in any timeline that I know of, Data. You're even free to move out now if you so choose. Don't think that just because you live here that I'm going to try and influence your personal life. Do what ever makes you happy." She turned and surprised him by opening the front door and walking out. 

Data dried his hands on the kitchen towel and grabbing his keys from the hook on the wall, followed his upset housemate outside. He activated his holo-disguise as it was still light outside and scanned the street for Harper. She was sitting on a curb very close to the main road that ran along the right side of the house. She was actually sitting closer to the road than Data cared for....

He walked over and sat beside her, deciding that if a car swerved towards them, he should be able to protect her. They sat in silence for three minutes but Harper would not look at him. She did not ever acknowledge his presence. 

"I did not intend to upset you, Harper," Data finally told her. 

Silence. 

"Is it your intent to give me 'the cold shoulder'?" he asked, softly. She sat looking out across the street, with her elbows resting on her knees and her chin propped up in her hands. It gave her a very childlike appearance. 

"I just came out here to think," she finally said, defensively. 

"And you intended to leave me behind?" he prodded.

"I didn't go that far, Jayden." She was very good at changing over to his outside name. 

"Do you wish me to find a separate place to habitate?" he asked. 

"Your life, your choice."

"You did not answer my question, Harper." This finally caused her to look at him. She also stood up and put her hands on her hips. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him. Data decided that he might have pushed her too hard...

He stood up as well, but he did not feel as though they were safe in this location and pulling one hand off her hip, Data ushered her into the grass and away from potential danger. As soon as he released her hand she stalked off across the grass away from him. 

~ Definitely pushed her too far! ~

He caught up with her in front of the steps to the house. The steps would need painting soon, he noted. And the hedge needed trimming. He reached out and gently took a hold of Harper's arm. Turning her slowly around to face him, he could not determine whether she looked very angry or close to tears.

"I had assumed that we were forming a friendship. Am I mistaken?" he asked, tentatively. 

"No," she whispered. 

Finally, a useful response!

Her expression turned to one of obvious pain. "You have to understand how hard this is for me at times. You were a dream, a fiction. Now I wake up in the morning to find you making my coffee. I just don't know how I should feel sometimes. You were a safe obsession, damn it! But you walked out of the TV and into my guestroom." Harper looked away, but as Data had once before, he sensed she was not finished. She walked past him and turned on her heels again to face him. She was speaking as soon as he too swung around to face her. 

"Imagine that you, in your own time and place, came across Tasha. She's alive and well, but does not remember anything about the Enterprise or you. Could you see her every day and not be torn apart by it? Well, that is how it is for me. Not always, but sometimes. I'm getting to know you, the real you, but I can't always separate this," she touched his chest with her hand. "With what I remember from what I thought was fiction. I don't even know if it is fiction anymore since the only discrepancy we've found is that they didn't have you with hair anywhere but on your head, and your uniform didn't change." She sighed and shook her head. 

"You were a safe obsession. You didn't exist so I could be as obsessed as I wanted to be. I kept it to myself and I wasn't hurting anyone. I never wanted to lust after someone else's man, so I didn't want to focus on an actor. I focused on a fictional character in a morally upright and uplifting television show. I still wonder if I'm not dreaming all of this."

"That has occurred to me as well, but I do not believe that either of us is dreaming," Data assured her. 

It didn't help.

"It doesn't make it any better. You could still be snatched away at any time. The day you finally got your disguise working, I came home and I couldn't find you. The first thing I did was panic! I was sure you were gone and I would never see you again. I was not exactly comfortable sitting on your bed when I did find you, but it was either that or fall on the floor. I'm not sure how much of this I can take. I thought I was handling it, but now I'm not so sure. Please, go inside and just let me be for a while. I just need some time alone." 

At first Data could not move. Harper had said so much and he had so many questions. The determined expression on her face melted into one of pleading desperation. Slowly he turned and went back in the house. 

Data sat on his bed in his room and went over what Harper had said. He had believed that she had abandoned her obsession, but now he knew that she was just attempting to repress it. She was also worried that he would disappear without her being allowed the opportunity to say good-bye. He should have told her already about what he had found. He had been more successful in his attempts to reconfigure his tricorder to scan for temporal shifts than he had let on. He had been able to determine that the power that had sent him here was not what he had previously believed. 

The particles that he had detected upon his arrival had been off. Data had believed them indications of a shift, but detailed analyses had revealed that he had been meant to believe this, but it was not true. The particles had been replicated, by something more advanced than the Enterprise's systems, but replicated nonetheless. He did not know how he knew, but Data now suspected that Q had indeed brought him here. Why, was a complete mystery, but all of Data's attempts to summon the omnipotent being had proven ineffectual. Q had brought Data to a place and time where the Enterprise would not be able to find him and where Data could not hope to find his way back. 

He was stuck here. 

Until such a time that he had done whatever it was that Q wanted him to do, Data was stuck.

"Now that isn't a very positive attitude from the eternal optimist," said a disembodied voice. There was a flash of light and Q stood before Data, dressed in blue jeans, and a Star Trek T-shirt. Data stared briefly at the picture of himself and all of the senior staff of the Enterprise that surrounded the image of the proud ship on the shirt. Looking from the shirt to Q's eyes, Data began his questions. 

"Why have you brought me here?" Data asked him, doubting he would get a straight answer. 

"Isn't that what you asked the woman when I zapped you here? Really, Data, you need to work on your conversation skills." Q looked around the room. Other than the furniture and the android sitting on the bed, there was not much to look at. "Not much of a decorator either. You may want to consider sprucing up the place, Data. It may lighten your dreary mood." 

Data sighed and tried again. "Have you come to take me home?" he asked. Harper would not be happy, but maybe she would be relieved...

"No, I haven't. You see, Data, with you I can be more patient in my lessons. You won't live forever, but you're not as fragile as Jean-Luc. So relax. You're here for the duration." Q smiled, as though this should please Data. 

"The duration of what, may I ask?" Data asked, ever hopeful.

Q walked over to the door of Data's bedroom and went out. "Where is the lady of the house hiding? I wanted to meet her. After all I had to search through hundreds of timelines to find just the perfect woman to teach you this lesson." Data followed Q into the living room. 

Just the perfect woman? What lesson? Data doubted that getting an answer to that question would be easy.

"Harper is outside. Please, Q. She is upset with me at this time. She asked to be alone."

"Well, she's been alone for five years, I think she had plenty of alone time then." Q snapped his fingers and Harper was no longer outside. But she had previously been sitting, and the thing she had been sitting on was now gone, so she fell to the floor. Data went to help her to her feet. Harper's expression told Data that she somehow believed him to be responsible for her sudden appearance in the living room and in a way he guessed she was right. 

"We have company," he told her, helping her to a stand. Data pointed to Q.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed in a hush.

"See! I knew she would recognize me!" Q said holding his arms wide and grinning with glee. 

"You've come to take him from me, haven't you?" Harper sounded resigned to the inevitable, but also in shock. Data still had an arm around her from helping her to stand and he had decided to keep it there to steady her. Q looked almost serious at her question.

"Moi? On my honor, my lady, I will never take Data from you." Q cocked his head and stared at the two of them. "You make a rather interesting couple," he noted.

"I will not be toyed with!" Harper raged, shrugging off Data's almost protective embrace. "If you're planning some little game to torture us, count me out! Take him home and leave me out of this. How can you be so cruel to him, Q? He saved your life once and all you gave him was a bloody laughing fit that he didn't even understand," she barked.

"I did enjoy it," Data interjected.

"Shut up, Data!" She didn't turn and look at him, but simply swatted at him with the back of her hand. "He misses his friends," Harper continued, addressing Q. "He needs his Counselor and I think he even misses his cat. Send him home!" she huffed. Q listened to her ranting and turned to Data.

"Just like a woman. Wants you to stay one moment, can't wait for you to leave the next. Do you want to leave her, Data?" 

Data felt as though all of time was standing still and waiting on his reply. 

"I have promised Harper that I would honor my debt to her. Will you reimburse her, or erase the time I spent here from her history?" Data asked Q.

"Uuuumm, no. Sorry, actions have consequences, Data. I can take you now, but I can't undo any of the damage that you did here. You know how the Continuum has been cracking down on me, just about takes all the fun out of it." Q said with a sigh and a shrug. 

"Go, Data. I'll be fine, I release you from your promise." Harper said, putting her hands on Data's chest and looking earnestly up into his eyes.

"You may want to rethink that, my dear," said Q. He looked around the room and up at the ceiling. It needed painting, Data noted. And cobweb removal... "On second thought, it may be easier for you in an apartment. This place is rather neglected. No money to fix it up I'll wager. You'll have to get a one room flat, but you won't have to work two jobs...for more than two more years." Q said this with all the emphasis he would give to a hangnail...actually he may have found the hangnail more interesting. 

"I'm going to lose my house?" Harper whispered, all the colour draining from her face. She had turned from Data and he wondered if he should reach for her shoulders again. "Why? He didn't spend that much money...why-"

"Oh, its not all Data's fault, he just gets the ball rolling...downhill I'm afraid. It's the fire. Burns too much of the house for you to fix since you let your homeowner's insurance lapse... Quite sad really, since Data could have prevented most of the damage. Superhuman speed, resistance to fire and all... Come Data; let's get you home. Too bad you'll miss your lunches with that cute little blonde. All you needed was a red head for a complete set." Q motioned for Data to come closer, but Data stood unmoving. 

"Go, Data. I'll just move now. He's right, really. I have no need of all this room. We got this house to fill it with kids. I'll put it on the market in the morning. Go home," Harper pleaded. 

Data shook his head. "I cannot discharge my obligation. Nor can I allow you to dismiss it." 

"He's not going to hang around while you pay me back, Data. It's not his style." Harper reminded him, impatiently.

"I am aware of that fact." 

"Oh, I won't leave you completely stranded, my golden friend," Q assured Data, "Tell you what, when you want to go home, just stand before Harper, click your heels three times and say 'there's no place like the Enterprise' three times." And with that Q was gone. Harper was sure, for a moment that Data had gone too. She was not sure whether she should be relieved or devastated to find the android just where he had been. 

"You really are stranded here now aren't you? He won't come back for years, if he ever does." Harper was not asking a question. Data stared at the place where Q had been and wondered if he had done the right thing. His ethical program had rebelled against leaving Harper to a possible future of poverty, but had he now negated any possibility of returning to his friends in the future? 

Data again felt torn.

Harper had been kind to him and had risked herself to provide for him whatever he needed, but they had both assumed that this would be short lived. There had always been an underlying urgency to complete his tasks before whatever had thrown him here pulled him back. But now Data knew that the tests he had run and the conclusions he had reached were indeed correct. It was not an accident that he was here. Q had something in mind and Data was not going to be returned until the plan came to fruition. 

"It is best this way," he said, absently. 

"How?" Harper snapped.

"If I left I would have missed our dinner plans and you already wrote it down on the calendar," he said, with little conviction. 

"That was the best you could come up with?" Harper shook her head and heaved a sigh. "Now you're going to hate me. You should have gone, Data."

"It is futile to argue the point now, Q is gone and I also do not believe that he will return until I have learned whatever lesson he believes I need to learn." Data moved to the hall and stared at the smoke detector secured to the wall. 

"What are you babbling about? What lesson?" Harper asked padding after him like a puppy. 

Data reached up and touched the test button. A sharp shrilling scream blasted out from the unit. Data nodded, but was only partially satisfied. "Q did not tell me anything except that he had searched through hundreds of timelines in order to find the perfect woman to teach me this lesson." Data now headed down the stairs to the location of the smoke detector in the basement. 

"So, who's the perfect woman? The blonde?" Harper asked, bitterness entering her voice. She was running down the stairs after him. When they both reached the landing, Date turned to her. 

"No, you," He turned away and continued towards the downstairs detector. Data checked this one too and with a nod turned to wait for Harper to come out of her daze and catch up to him. 

"What the hell does that mean? The perfect woman to teach you a lesson...what did you do? Get caught with your hand in the cookie jar?" She stood in front of Data with her hands on her hips again and he found himself smiling. He recalled the memory of her actually yelling at Q. Of course, she had also told him to shut up... Data would have to talk to her about that. Yelling at Q was never a good idea. 

"I do not have any further information on this, Harper. Tomorrow, we will purchase new batteries for the two smoke detection units we have and purchase two additional units. We need one for your bedroom and one for the garage. I will insure that the batteries are changed every four months." 

"It says to change them every six months, Data." she argued, with no idea as to why. He turned and looked her in the eye.

"We are going to change them every four months. I will not allow our home to be destroyed due to neglect," he replied firmly.

"Our home?" she questioned. 

He cocked his head to the side. "Have you decided to ask me to leave?" 

"No, how can I teach you your damned lesson if you're not here? Fine, our house. I always suspected you had a stubborn streak, Data. I just never expected to have it used against me!" She only sounded half-heartedly angry. 

"Your manager was closing at the mall tonight, I want you to call her, please. Inform her that you will not be able to work tomorrow evening," Data ordered, sort of.

"Why?" Harper asked. Data was on the move again, heading upstairs. With his long strides, she had to use her own to keep up with him. Good thing she was tall for a woman. 

"We have many areas of the house that need tending. Your work schedule includes no days off and this makes it difficult to attend to certain items." 

"If I remember correctly, you once told Geordi that you could remain on the bridge at all times, so why are you harping on me about work. I need the money and you know that," she defended.

Data had plans for her in this area, but he had decided that it would take time to implement and more time if she resisted. 

"I will be contributing to our financial condition at the end of this month and then our situation should improve." Dramatically, he thought to himself. Data had only considered employment at businesses that could insure his ability to properly provide for Harper's welfare should he determine that he would not be able to return to his own time. 

Today they had not only discovered that Data was not going anywhere in time, but Harper had agreed that he should also not change his physical address. He walked to the phone and handed it to her. He would have dialed as well, but Data was sure that Harper knew the number. She huffed at him, but relented. Harper's boss was not happy, but agreed saying that Harper had been looking tired lately. Overhearing this caused Data a pang of guilt. He was well aware that he was the cause of his housemate's fatigue. 

Data sent Harper to bed after one glass of wine, but had her come back out to say goodnight after her bath so that he knew she was safe. Data was going to honor his promise to her...despite everything.

Data was insane! 

She was living with an insane android! Harper sighed to herself. She was in love with an insane android who lived in her house and wanted to take over paying the bills. She could not argue that he wouldn't do a better job than she could, but they were Harper's bills and it was the principle of the thing. 

Men! 

"That's just what I need," Harper mumbled to herself, laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling. "A man in the house to do the bills, paint the ceiling, bring home the bacon and still let me sleep alone!" She picked up a pillow and pretended to smother herself with it. In one of her stories, she had a woman complaining that men were designed to drive women crazy. How ironic that Harper had not even met Data at the time she had written it, but now she knew it to be one hundred percent true! 

On Harper's bedside table she kept a laminated picture of Data that had come with a movie gift set that she had purchased three years ago. The picture featured Data standing next to the Borg Queen as it had been from the movie 'First Contact'. Since Data's arrival, Harper had begun to hide the picture under something, because she'd used it as a coaster for years now and didn't want to give it up. She picked it up now and stared at the image of the Queen. 

"Ya know, I never really was jealous of you even if you had a taste of what I've always wanted, but now I think I do hate you for having hurt him in the process." She had no idea why, but the image of Data sitting down on the couch so that Harper couldn't look at his cute butt any longer, came to mind. She laughed to herself. What could be the lesson she was intended to teach him? Harper doubted that her appreciation of his ass had anything to do with it...or any other parts of him, for that matter. 

Still, the information Data had given her about the woman in his office troubled Harper. She had no right to interfere in Data's personal life if he suddenly decided to have one, but how was Harper going to deal with pining after a man who was right under her nose but she could not touch?


	5. Chapter Five – Rebuilding Harper

Author's note- Paramount still owns everything and I'm only dreaming here. This is a work of fiction and any similarity to anyone living, is because they have the misfortune to know me and got dragged into this story. Any similarity to anyone dead a just a coincident.

This chapter is again PG, I think but the ones that follow are going to get heavier, and are unsuitable for Fanfiction.net (a wonderful place, but the way!) So my sister and I have founded our own new site and the rest of this story will be posted there, so no one under 18 is offended. 

Please come visit us there, but ONLY IF YOU ARE 18 OR OLDER!!! – Lessa www.datalorefiction.net

Thanks to- DSBS, Takara and Yillara for beta testing this story. 

Chapter Five – Rebuilding Harper

Thursday was a productive day and Data felt pleased with his progress by lunchtime. He was planning the work he would do this afternoon as he headed for the elevator. He did not want to keep Harper waiting... The big gold finished glass doors loomed before him, but he could hear a pair of high heels coming up from behind him. 

"Jayden? Are you ignoring me?" Deborah looked very hurt when he turned to look at her. He had not heard her speak to him before these words.

"No, did you call to me? Do you require assistance?" he answered, palming his car keys. 

"Why do you have your suit jacket on? You're too new to have a lunch meeting." Deborah fingered a blonde lock, curling it around as though attempting to form a ringlet. 

"I have one nonetheless, but it is not a business lunch. If you are not in need of assistance, I will need to continue this conversation at a later time. I do not wish to be late." Deborah let her hand fall from her hair. 

"You're meeting someone for lunch? Man or woman?" she asked, suspiciously. 

Date realized that this whole scene could have been avoided if he had just mentioned Harper earlier. 

"I am going to my housemate's office to have lunch with her," he conceded, hoping for the best. 

"Housemate? Is that like a roommate?" she asked, seemingly trying to decide her course of action. Data looked up her reference, but was careful not to tilt his head to the side or move his eyes as he normally did when performing this task. 

"Yes, she is my roommate. Her name is Harper. I will see you later if time permits, Deborah. I do not wish to be late." He moved to go, but he could hear an insulted sniff emanate from behind him. He would try to explain this to her later. Perhaps he should tell Harper that he would be late picking her up, in order to speak with Deborah regarding the nature of their relationship. Whether he would be speaking of his relationship with Deborah or the one he had with Harper, Data was not certain, but he would have to deal with this and soon. Deborah deserved an explanation. 

Data discovered at lunch that Harper did not like his idea. She did not say this, but Data had already spent enough time cataloging her facial expressions to know that this one was not cheerful acceptance. 

"Tell you what," she told him "I need to drop by the drug store for some girl stuff and since you and I are attached at the hip lately I haven't had the chance to go. I'll take you back to work after lunch and pick you up tonight after the drug store. Deal?" She sounded odd, but this seemed reasonable, so Data agreed.

When Data entered his office building again, John Lucas, whose name was an obvious reminder of someone else, was waiting for him. 

"Hey, Jay. Been looking for ya. Was hoping to work with ya on that internal report this afternoon," John said, speaking in his annoyingly unprofessional way.

Data nodded. He had already 'learned' about this report that John was to instruct him on, but Harper had warned Data that he should not show too much of his superior capabilities and allow his fellows to 'teach' him. She had called it 'showing him the ropes'. Data had heard this expression on another occasion, but he had known the ropes at that time too. 

"Yes. Thank you for your willingness to educate me in this area. I will need the information for the quarterly report. I would also like you to look over my critiques of the software packages I was assigned." Data had detected eleven flaws, but had only noted nine per Harper's warning. 

"Sure, no problem." They headed for the elevator and Jayden Soong's desk.

Later that afternoon, Data informed the receptionist that he was expecting a guest and wanted to be informed of Harper's arrival. He had gone by Deborah's desk just prior to the time she took her afternoon break and asked her to come to his desk before to her departure for the evening. The woman had agreed all too eagerly. 

"Hi, Jayden," Deborah purred from just behind him at 5:03 PM. Data had a second chair in his cubical, so he asked her to sit. She looked more inclined to sit on the edge of his desk, but settled for the chair. 

"I am afraid that I have unintentionally misled you, Deborah. I had believed that your motivation in joining me during our lunch hour was simply a desire for company. I have enjoyed your company as well, but somehow I gave you the impression that I was interested in company after work hours. That is not the case. I sincerely apologize for failing to inform you earlier, but I was...confused." Stunned, actually. Harper had been right here as well and Data had not been able to accept it. He had spent two days trying to convince himself that he was imagining suggestive smiles where none existed. But he had indeed seen them and had delayed in dealing with the situation. He simply was not used to women flirting with him!

"So, you're not interested? What are you, gay? Married? Sleeping with your roommate?" she sniped. Her lips curved downward in a fierce expression. 

Data had not expected this much of a response. Nor had he expected Deborah to sound so venomous. Her tone and the look in her eyes caused Data to recoil, slightly. Her memory was not very accurate, though. She had asked him if he were married on Monday. 

"None of your suppositions are accurate, Deborah. I simply do not wish to pursue a relationship of this nature at this time. I meant no offense." He rose and hoped she would take this for a dismissal. 

Deborah had obviously never been in Star Fleet.

She did not move.

Finally she did move, but only to uncross and recross her legs. "Are you sure about your decision, Jayden?" She leaned forward slightly. "I think you and I could have some fun together. It doesn't have to be serious. We could just get together and play once in a while. I'd just like to see you out of that suit and tie once or twice. I'm sure you take-"

"Jayden? Oh...I hope I'm not interrupting something." Harper appeared as if out of thin air at the opening of Data's cubical. Her eyes were bright and full of mischief. Suddenly, Data realized why Harper had been so eager to drive him back to work.

"Your housemate, I take it?" Deborah asked with irritation. She still did not stand. 

"Yes. Harper Talenger, this is Deborah Crabtree." Data introduced them, wishing Q would reappear and save him from this. Harper moved to shake Deborah's hand. Her beaming smile seemed more bright and cheery than the situation warranted. 

"Jayden told me he'd met a nice girl here at lunch and that her name was Debbie. You, I assume?" Harper asked, smoothly. 

"Deborah, my name is Deborah. Yes, I met Jayden his first day. We've lunched together three days in a row." Deborah said challengingly. She finally stood, still moving in a manner that could be seen as flirtatious. As Deborah rose, she seemed to give Data every opportunity to look down her blouse. 

"I was not able to have lunch with him on those days," Harper spoke as though she was speaking to Deborah, but she was looking at Data. "I had a big project and had to eat at my desk." Harper ignored the other woman's challenging actions. She was not going to fight with this girl, but she was going to make it clear that this man was off limits...or at least not interested. If Deborah wanted to flash her tits at him or anyone else, that was one thing, but trying to pressure Data into going out with her was quite another. If Harper believed for one minute that Data was really interested in Blondie, then she would have sulked for a year, but she would have stepped aside. But Data had not indicated that he was interested. He said he thought it best to not be available for a few days. 

Sounded like disinterest to Harper! 

Harper turned to the only man in the cubical and being that it was a tight fit, she was standing with only inches between them. "Ready to go home?" she asked him, conversationally. "I believe there are batteries and two smoke detectors calling your name." She put a hand to her ear as though she was straining to hear a call from the distance. 

"I have not forgotten," he commented, drolly. 

"You never do." Harper said with a grin. Turning back to Deborah she said, "Will you excuse us, please, Miss Crabtree? We're trying to fix up our house and have to get to the store." Harper beamed a perfectly pleasant smile at Deborah, but also moved so that the other woman couldn't brush Data as she left. 

"Of course. See you tomorrow, Jayden." Deborah said as she walked by him, trying to muster a sultry smile. 

"It was lovely to meet you, Miss Crabtree. Drive carefully going home now," Harper called to her. When she turned back to him, Data looked down at her suspiciously. "What?" Harper asked, shrugging innocently. 

"You planned this. Do not try and convince me that you did not." Data sounded stern, but he knew that if she were paying attention, his eyes would betray him.

Harper grinned. "I planned this," she admitted, with a glint of joy in her eyes. "I expected you to get yourself in trouble so I decided I'd be there to get you out of it. If you've changed your mind and want to spend the night in her bed, I can call her back-" Harper made as though to chase after the blonde, but Data pulled her back by the arm. 

"I do not wish that. I also do not believe for a moment that you believed that I did." 

"Not a one night stand kind of guy..." Harper recited, although a corrected version. She looked very pleased with herself, standing inches from him, her fingers laced together, behind her back. 

"Correct," he replied, looking down at her. As she grinned up at him, Data realized he felt something, an inclination to move closer to her...to touch her. 

Data jerked back, suddenly nervous and confused by this impulse. Where had this come from? 

"I need to straighten up before we leave," he informed her. Harper made a strange noise as a reply, but Data paid it no mind, moving to turn off his computer and put on his jacket. Collecting his briefcase, he nodded at her that he was ready. She grinned and rolled her eyes at him. 

In the van, Data had a lot to say, but could not bring himself to ask the questions that were burning in his brain. They arrived at the local store and Data attended to the 'boy' shopping, while Harper picked up some foodstuff that she needed. 

"Not really 'girl' stuff," she commented.

"Why are you referring to what I wish to purchase by a gender?" he asked, not seeing a connection. Harper grinned and put a half-gallon of milk in their cart. 

"Because you're suddenly behaving very gender specific. You want to check the locks at night and fix up the house and do the bills. All very manly stuff, and I want to know who hired you to take care of me?" she teased.

"Q?" he asked in a hush. 

"I'm supposed to be teaching you a lesson, not the other way around," Harper reminded him, poking him in the side. 

"Perhaps you are to teach me how to take better care of another person. I can already take care of a cat," Data mused. Harper patted his arm, sympathetically.

"You miss her, don't you?" she asked, knowing the answer.

"Spot? I did enjoy taking care of her. I think I miss her the most late at night," he confessed.

"Why?" Harper asked as they made their way to the battery area. 

"After you have gone to bed, I am alone. On the Enterprise, I was rarely ever completely alone. Spot did sleep a great deal, but she usually would take her cat naps near me when I was in our quarters." He was smiling at the memory. Harper had the strongest impulse to hug the stuffing out of him. She sighed and decided that she was just going to have to get him a kitten.

~ God, but I'm a sucker! ~ She thought to herself. ~ Is there anything I wouldn't do for him?~

After they arrived home, Data went to work. He changed into some old clothes of Robin's and after tending to all the alarms, with Harper handing and holding various items, Data headed to the garage. He would cut the tops of the bushes and she was to trim the front limbs with the non-electric sheers. He sent her in to eat her dinner while he cleaned up the mess and planned his next attack. The garage door had been 'dinged' years ago when Harper's daughter had jokingly hit the control to lower the door before the van had cleared it. Data believed that he could straighten it, but did not wish to break it. He had been given Harper's approval to try, so he...tried. 

Looking around the neighborhood to ensure that no one would see him, he set to work. A push here and a pull there and a controlled hit at precisely this point. Done! 

For good measure, he swept out the garage and reorganized the yard tools. Data came upstairs to find Harper dusting and listening to music. She was singing and moving about the room in a halfhearted attempt at dancing. She had not noticed his presence and was just enjoying the moment. 

As Data watched her, that strange feeling returned. 

In some ways he found her movements humorous. 

In some ways he did not. 

Data pulled himself away before Harper noticed his stare. Heading for his room, Data pulled his pajamas from a drawer and his robe from the closet. Grabbing a clean towel from the linen closet he headed for his shower. Yard work was very dirty work. He had never thought about life in this time period and how much work it entailed. Shopping, cooking, cleaning and working in order to pay for it all. It was amazing that any of these people ever had time for sleep. 

Data emerged from his bathroom clean and feeling better. He did not mind doing things that would cause him to get dirty, but he did not like being dirty any longer than necessary. He heard the vacuum as soon as he opened the bathroom door. Harper was not dancing, but she was still singing above the noise. He went to the kitchen and poured a glass of wine for her. He decided to pour himself one too. 

The noise stopped and Data turned to see Harper putting the vacuum away in the hall closet. He made his way over to her with glasses in hand. 

"Where did you come from?" she gasped, startled at his sudden appearance. 

Momentarily confused, he said, "Omicron Theta?" Laughing, Harper took his proffered glass and shook her head at him. "Come with me," he said and led her down the stairs to the garage. They left their wine on the table at the top of the stairs. Opening the door, he pointed at his handy work. 

"Wow! You swept, you straightened. Oh, Data you fixed the garage door!" He nodded excitedly when she finally noticed what he had been waiting for her to see. "Well, I don't know what to say!" Harper looked a little dazed as she took one step up the stairs. Before taking a second step, she turned back and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Thanks, Data," she said, appreciatively and headed back up the stairs. 

~ It had just been a peck on the cheek, ~ Data reminded himself firmly. ~ Harper had not lost control and thrown herself at him! ~

He was in his room and Harper, too, had gone to bed. It was 2:14 AM and he was still going over the events of the day. 

Harper had warned Data after he had only been in her home for a few days that she was what she called a 'touchy-feely' kind of person. 

"So, if it bothers you to be touched, patted, hugged and so on, either get over it or get used to it. I've been this way all my life and even people that have told me they disliked being touched never minded it when I did it. So be prepared." Her warning had been quite serious. 

"I have no aversion to being touched," Data had assured her, but he had been confused as to why she would warn him about this. Now he understood. He had witnessed it several times in her manner in public. She touched everyone she knew and sometimes even her customers at the second job. And everyone that she touched, responded. They smiled or reciprocated. No one ever seemed offended or displeased at her touch. She was also very friendly. She always greeted cashiers warmly and thanked them politely. She had a smile for everyone as long as she was in a good mood and she usually was. 

Harper did tend to wake up grumpy, but if Data had her coffee waiting for her, this and five minutes of quiet brought her out from under her daily gray cloud. Data had even discovered that if he waited for exactly four minutes and thirty-seven seconds and then caught her attention with a silly grin, she was like putty in his hands. 

It was just her getting used to him. The little peck had meant she was pleased, that was all. Harper was trying to push her past over-involvement with his facsimile away and form a new relationship with the 'real thing', but she had made it clear that it was not easy. 

Data analyzed his thoughts and possible reactions to her suggested scenario of meeting a Tasha who did not remember him or the intimacy they had once shared. How would he have reacted to seeing Tasha again? To work around Tasha, remembering the feel of her skin, the taste of her mouth, the sounds she made as he had made love to her. But have Tasha remember nothing?

Yes, Harper was right, it would bother Data to see Tasha again and have her not remember him at all. But he did not have a forgotten past with Harper. So how was that applicable here? His analysis of this question caused him to pull up the memory of one of the first things she had said to him. 

"Unless wishful thinking has given me a new ability, I don't think I had anything to do with your arrival here..." Wishful thinking... Was it more than just an intense interest in him? More than just the study of him as she watched the TV show?

"...I never wanted to lust after someone else's man..." Lust? To ache for, to be consumed with desire for, to crave, long, need, pine, want, wish, yearn, or yen for. 

Had she imagined herself...with him? Imagined an intimacy between them? 

And why was just the thought of that causing him to feel...anxious. Or was it anxiety?

Further analysis pointed to things being worse than Data had been willing to consider. He had wanted to believe that Harper had just thought fondly of his 'character' and had enjoyed the little stories that she had read...

Overwhelmed with a sudden need to know, Data almost ran from his room to the computer desk. Once it had booted up and the DSL had connected, he accessed the archive and pulled up every story that involved...him. Some were very objectionable! This "Data" had committed horrible acts of violence and sexually atrocities. The stories portrayed him acting contrary to almost all of his ethical sub-routines! 

There were also stories that involved himself and every one of his friends engaging in sexual acts. Male and female! There was almost nothing that had not been written about. 

Data could understand why Harper had tried to convince him not to read these stories, but he wondered why she had read some of them...or if she had...

Data's ethical sub-routine was already raging from what he had read, and he worried that it was going to try to shut him down for what he was now thinking. He backed out of the Internet connection and pulled up Windows Explorer. Harper had asked him not to go into Word, but Data could still look at what was listed without actually going into anything he found there. 

There were six Word documents listed. A Dangerous Meeting. Teagan. The Real Thing. The Captain's Woman and one more that had two parts. This was the only one that gave Data pause.

Lessa and Data –Choices and Dreams, Part 1 and Part 2. 

He did not know a Lessa. 

"Did you read them?" 

Data gasped. He had not even heard Harper come into the room. He swiveled the chair around to face her. She looked as though she was in a state of shock. He knew how she felt. 

"No, I gave you my word that I would not. How many of them include me?" he asked her, hoping she would answer before she made for his off switch. 

"What do you think?" she asked angrily. "And how do I know that you kept your promise?" she shot back at him. 

Her hands where shaking with rage as he took them in his own. "I did not read the stories attached to these titles. I only looked at the titles to see if they hinted at the contents."

"I should have deleted them, but I was being stubborn! How could you do this to me, Data? You invaded my privacy!" She yanked her hand away from his and glared at him furiously. 

"I wanted to know if you thought about me the way the others, who have written stories involving me, do." 

"The archive?" she asked, looking mournful. Data nodded. "All of them with you listed?" Another nod. "God, Data, some of them were really offensive!" 

"Why did you read them?" 

"I guess the same reason that you did. Curiosity. I stopped reading some of them if I was really offended, and some I have never and will never read." 

"And your stories?" He had to know...

"You won't give up, will you? You're a smart boy, what is your educated guess?" she asked caustically. 

"The titles are too vague, except for this one," He pointed at the two-part story. "I am troubled by 'a dangerous meeting'. Who is dangerous?" Despite her anger, she had to laugh. 

"The girl. They're all love stories, Data. I always thought it was unfair that you never were given the opportunity to 'get the girl' in any of the stories I've read...novels I mean, not fan fiction. Even in the fan fiction, I've only found a small handful. I created a character and hooked her up with your character. The character, remember? You were fiction! It was fun and romantic and she's referred to as marginally dangerous. She's not really...well if she gets mad, but...don't get me started." 

"Who is Teagan?" May as well go all the way...

"You are really pushing it, Mister! She is harder to explain. Lessa is in two stories Teagan is in three, but she is different in each story and meets you at different times and in different situations. Lessa stays the same, the meeting is just different. The Captain's Woman is the only one that's finished. There, happy? I don't have you doing anything sick or perverted; you just fall in love and build a bunch of kids with her. And they all lived happily ever after..." 

"May I read "The Captain's Woman?" Data asked, still wondering how it could be about him with that title. Harper knew his rank...his previous rank.

"No!" she almost screamed. She pushed him back from the desk and shockingly sat on the edge of his lap and began deleting the stories. She even emptied the recycle bin, just to be sure. Once this was done, Harper leaped for his lap and glared defiantly at him. 

"Was there a salaciously sexual content in them, Harper?" Data asked. 

"No! Well...in one, but I was talked into it!" she defended, but it meant something else to Data.

"You have shown these stories to other people!" he asked, standing. 

"You were not real, damn it! In the one I made the intimate stuff very innocent sounding. Do you have any idea how hard it is to write a sex scene without mentioning any body parts?!" Her fists were at her sides and she was standing on her toes shouting at him. 

"I am sure I do not know," he replied ironically. 

"Well, it's not easy, let me tell you! No sex takes place in the Captain's Women until the very end and it's only hinted at...strongly hinted at. In "A Dangerous Meeting", Susan challenged me to make a more sensual scene. Others did it, why couldn't I?" she defended. 

As much as Data hated to admit it, Harper had a point. As far as she had believed at the time, Data was a fictional character. Why would it be wrong to write about a fictional character? All love stories. Happily ever after. Children? They were not about Harper and himself. But were the characters really Harper with a different name? 

"Will you describe Lessa's character, please?" 

"She is a willful twenty-three-year-old who is quickly proving to be a very promising cyberneticist." 

"A cyberneticist?" he asked incredulously. 

"It gets worse. She is a reluctant telepath who can hear you. She has a temper worse than mine and is not afraid to use it. She likes to cook, but only gets to in 'Choices'. She can be sweet and funny and very daring. She's also good at missing the obvious and had no idea that you are interested in her at first." 

"I? You have me pursue her?" he asked flabbergasted. 

"A fun twist. You were always the one pursued in the show. I thought it would be fun for you to do the chasing for once...not that Lessa runs. When it finally hits her, she does panic a bit, but she gets over it," Harper explained.

"She is dangerous, but I am the one chasing her and she panics when I catch her?" he asked, disbelieving. His synopsis made Harper laugh. 

"She's charming in a silly school girl sort of way, really," she assured him.

"Is she you?" Data asked. He had to know and the description was not clear enough for him to discern for himself. Harper's smile vanished. 

"In some ways. In some ways she's what I would like to be. Younger for one..." Harper seemed to sense that this was coming to a head. Her colour was ashen.

"And intimate with me?" he finished for her. 

"I've not hidden the fact that I was obsessed with you. How could I? I've explained this every way from Sunday to you Data and if you just can't get over it, then you should've forgotten about that damned lesson Q wanted me to teach you and gone back with him. Whatever was in those stories was fiction, just like you were to me a month ago. Did you know I was working on one of the stories when you popped here? I know the difference between real and unreal. Q is messing with my head too Data! But I still know that Lessa and Teagan do not exist. And as far as I know, you have never been in love with someone alive who loved you back! I can't take it back. It would be a lie and my ethical sub-routines would not allow me to say that you mean nothing to me." She glared up at him and looked madder than when she had been yelling at Q. "Now, what else do you want from me?" she asked poking him in the chest in time with each word. 

"I want to understand why," he told her. "Why have you not sought a new mate? I have seen no indication that you even try to date." 

She reeled back from him as though she were avoiding a blow. 

"A new mate?" she repeated, aghast. 

"Your husband had been deceased for five years, Harper. You-" 

"And that's it? I should just pick myself up, dust myself off and find a new husband?" Her expression made it clear she was against this idea. "Robin was my life! My soulmate! He gave me my only child, made me a mother!" Tears began to stream down her cheeks. "I can't just toss him aside and forget what he means to me." Harper turned from Data for the first time in all of this. Her sobs became louder. 

"My daughter healed. My doctor told me I would too. They consider you crazy if you don't get past a death like this. But I couldn't. You want to know what I really want, Data? I want Robin back! I want him here and with me and alive and well. I want him to tell me it was all just a bad dream. That he will never leave me and I will never again have to sleep alone." Harper slowly sank to the floor. Hugging her knees to her chest, she continued to sob. 

Data got down on the floor beside her and pulled her to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, but he could not think of one single thing to say other than...

"I am sorry."

Her obsession with him had been illusionary...as illusionary as Harper had believed Data to be!

Feeling that she would be perceived as unbalanced if she insisted on keeping her late husband alive in her mind, she had turned to a fantasy. A safe fantasy. She had surrounded herself with images of Data using each one as a block in the wall between herself and the reality that she could not bring herself to face. 

Her husband was dead and she was still alive. 

Instead of moving on and allowing herself to heal, Harper had clung to the past and a man who could no longer provider her with love. So Data had been selected to fill in the blanks...until he popped into her living room and spoiled everything. 

Facing one's demons was at least as hard as resisting temptation. 

Was Harper correct in her assessment that Q was also manipulating her? Harper would not be having this problem if, for whatever reason Q had decided to send her Captain Picard. 

Even so, it meant that Data had a whole new dilemma. He suspected that he had correctly identified the emotion that she was causing in him. It was still very new and small, this feeling. But it was building. 

This woman who had professed to be obsessed with Data was, in reality, still in love with her husband...and Data was afraid he was falling for her.

Her sobs were subsiding and Data decided it was time to get her off the floor. In a move few could duplicate, he rose to his feet and carried Harper up with him. 

"Where are we going?" she asked in a very small voice. 

"Where do you wish to go? I had been considering the couch..." he answered gently. He noted again that she was barefoot. Her gown and robe swirled to her feet, but they would not protect Harper's feet in a fire. Data needed to see that her bed clothes were flame retardant or at least resistant. She needed slippers or something she could slip on should the prophesied fire come to pass. 

Data was unsure as to why he kept thinking of things like that at times like this. 

"The couch is fine," she said, surrendering to his will. 

He placed her there and sat next to her. 

"You told me that you had been to see a counselor before, true?" he asked, beginning his new train of thought. She sniffed and nodded. "I want you to make arrangements to see this person again." 

She snorted at this. "And tell her what? 'The android that I live with thinks I need to start seeing you again. Can you help me to forget about my late husband so the android I live with can stop worrying about me? The omnipotent being that sent this artificial life form to me thinks I can help him learn something important, but Data is worried that if I don't get over the loss of my husband that I won't be able to help him with his problem.' Can't you just see it? If I go and even open my mouth, you will never see me again." Harper narrowed her eyes at Data. "Is this your plan to get my house away from me? Get me committed to the nut house and you're set!" 

While he knew very well what morbid humor was, he had rarely heard it used quite this way. 

"You could talk to her without mentioning me." 

"I don't think so, Data. In a very short amount of time you have taken over a large portion of my life. It was not your choice, nor was it mine. I was doing ok with the facsimile." 

"I beg to differ," he commented.

"Don't beg sweetie, it's not your style. Anyway, I would have to talk about you and since I can't tell her the truth about who you are, I would have to lie. Lying never puts you on the path to salvation...or even good mental health."

"You are not unbalanced," he assured her. 

"Thank you, I didn't think I was either," Harper said, with a small smile.

"But you do have unresolved...issues," Data added.

"Seems like we have something in common, Data. Quite a pair, are we not? Crazy woman who can't get over her husband's death, substitutes him for an android she thought she would never meet...surprise! And a crazy man who can't forget his first love who rejected him before her untimely demise and the fact that he was tempted for half a second to chuck humanity to play house with a woman who was paler than his is. Yep, quite a pair." 

"You do not paint a very flattering picture of either of us, Harper," Data noted, but could not argue too much with what she had said. 

"You're the painter, sweetie. I can't even draw a straight line. But then what the hell is artistic about a straight line? Can I ask you something?" 

"Yes," he said shaking his head at her flow of words.

"Why couldn't we have done this during the day? It's, what, three AM? Could we not have concluded that we're both nuts at a reasonable hour?" 

"You believe insane people should discover their irrationalities at a sensible hour?" he asked, losing control and beginning to chuckle. 

"Ok, you're right. Well, whatever happens now, I think we're going to have to pass the counselor's hat back and forth between us. I'm sure that between the two of us we can get our heads screwed back on straight," she said, and pretended to be looking for loose bolts around his neck. 

"I believe that some of your cognitive functions have been compromised," Data teased. 

"I hate it when that happens..." Harper muttered, humorously.

"But I believe that I can help you reprogram them and perhaps install safeguards to prevent future data corruption." 

"I take it that was data with a little 'd'. Can you reprogram me with a better memory too? I forgot my own birthday last year." 

Data grinned. "I do not think so, but I can remind you. I have had many humans anthropomorphize me, but few wish to..."

"Androidize themselves? Maybe it's something that comes part and parcel with having a screw loose." She grinned at him and shrugged.

"Perhaps, you need to work on your speech, too. You use too many contractions," he teased. 

Harper gave him an evil grin. "That's because I'm Lore, did I forget to mention that?" 

"Must have slipped your mind..." 

"Actually, it is all part of my evil plan to take over the world or the past or the Borg, or just you I guess... Ok, you win. I'm not Lore or an exceptionally wonderful android; I'm just a tired and emotionally drained inferior human. Can I go back to bed now? I promise to be crazy with you in the morning." She tilted her head to the side and looked pleading, but also sweet and funny. 

Data chuckled softly. "Do you wish me to carry you to your bedroom?" he asked with a pleasant grin. 

"No, the malfunction is in my head, not my legs. I could have walked to the couch too, you know," she informed him, with a gentle smile. Data got up and held out a hand for her. 

"You do not have any slippers," he said, pulling her to her feet.

"And the significance of that is...?" she asked with her head tilted, studying him. 

"If there is to be a fire in the house, your feet could be injured." 

Harper shook her head at him. "You worry too much, but...in case of fire, Data, you have my permission to carry me." 

Friday was difficult for both of them. 

Harper had trouble getting back to sleep and Data felt as though he could have continued their late night conversation for hours if it had not been for Harper's need of rest. In Data's opinion, there were not enough hours in the day in this timeline. 

Data drove to join Harper for lunch that afternoon, but they ate in the public lunchroom so they were not able to speak of any of their pertinent problems. 

"How's Deborah?" Harper teased, not even two minutes after Jayden had joined her. 

"I believe that you should come with a warning label," Data told her, narrowing his eyes, but grinning. 

"Talk about data corruption... I think I've corrupted you!" Harper exclaimed as quietly as she could. She had looked stunned at his retort, though, and Data found that he was pleased. 

"That is a distinct possibility. However I have planned a counter measure," he said with a lecturing pointer finger raised.

"Don't keep me on the edge of my seat, I'll probably fall off..."

"I have planned some corruption of my own." 

"I'm in trouble now...or you are, because as backwards as I am, I just might enjoy it!" 

He grinned, and took a bite of his lunch. He had decided that he did not like peanut butter and jelly, but he did not want to complain since their funds were running so low. This would change once he received his first check, but that was still over a week away. To be so bound by money...it was a frustrating position in which to be. They needed many things, mostly for Harper or the house, but money was required for them all. It was very limiting!

Data drove Harper to her second job under protest. She was very tired and was in no shape to work, but there had been no time to call in a replacement, even if Harper had agreed to do so. 

"Go home, I'll be fine. I'll call you when we're ready to leave and you can pick me up," she told him in the parking lot. Data wanted to come in and help if he could, but Harper just shook her head. 

He sighed and waited until she was out of sight to drive home. 

Data was starting to like Classic Star Trek. He would always miss the first few minutes of it, but he could extrapolate. He mostly watched the TV when Harper was not at home, but he wondered if he should encourage her to watch it with him. He had assumed that he would identify more with Mr. Spock, whom he had met, but he found this to be untrue. While Data enjoyed watching Spock spar with the doctor, he had never agreed with the Vulcan philosophy, and now he disagreed to a greater degree. As such, Data saw the missed opportunities that the Vulcan did not even seem to notice and felt...bad for him. 

"Well, how does Jayden like his new job?" Susan asked as she and Harper worked on putting new stock out on the selling floor. 

"Oh, it seems to suit him. He's a very fast learner and that comes in handy." Harper replied. It was another slow night, but at least there was something to do. 

"You gonna let him stay or is he gonna move out when he gets on his feet?"

"I think he'll stay. We had an argument about that the other day. I made this dumb bet with him that he would have a girl thinking about whispering sweet nothings into his ear within a week and boy did that backfire." 

"He sleeping with her already?" Susan asked, coming close to Harper in case someone had wandered into the store. 

"That's just what I thought! No, but she was flirting with him. He made out like he wasn't interested, but I still wonder. He's been acting kind of strange the last two days. Anyway, we had a fight about this girl and I told him he was free to do what ever he damn well wanted, but not in my house! I think he was worried that I was gonna kick him out." 

"Are you?" 

"No, we came to an understanding. But he did find my Data stories." Susan had acted as a sounding board for several of her stories and never seemed to tire of Harper going on about Data. Harper had even considered telling Susan who Jayden really was, but decided that Susan, like everyone else, would never believe her. It was just too fantastic. 

"So, he knows you're nuts now, huh?" Susan teased. Harper laughed.

"I think he suspected that even before. He didn't read them and I deleted them off the computer right in front of him, but he doesn't know that I saved them to disk the day he came to live with me. They're safe and sound and hidden in a drawer in my room." 

"I kind of wondered about them since I know you haven't worked on them since he got here."

"He's always in the room! I can't write about a man with a man in the same room with me. Just too weird." Harper noted, wrinkling up her nose at the idea. 

Susan poked Harper in the ribs and grinned with an evil gleam in her eyes. "Get him to help you. He could play Data and you could play Lessa. Act out the scene and just write down whatever you all say, taking out the contractions for Data!" 

Harper almost choked, but let it turn into a strangled sort of laughter. If Susan only knew.

"No, thanks! Hey, do you know anyone who is giving away young cats or kittens? I need one." Harper told her. 

"Please tell me it's not what's on the menu this weekend," Susan said with a laugh.

"No, that would be you, but you're too short to feed the hordes. I need to get Jayden a kitten."

"You need to? Why?" 

Harper grinned, but blushed too. "Because if you had seen the look on his face when he talked about how he missed his cat that he used to have and how lonely he gets at night after I go to bed, you'd need to get him one too." 

"Sure he wasn't hinting that he wanted something other than cat company?" Susan asked, eyebrows raised. 

"Is that all anyone can think of?" Harper asked with a mock groan of impatience. 

"Is there anything else you think of?"

"Not often," Harper admitted, blushing. 

"And have you thought about Jayden?" 

Harper reddened further. "Maybe a little."

"And maybe a lot!" corrected Susan.

Data waited by the door for the ladies to exit the store and then he walked with them as they made the nightly bank deposit for the store. In the van, he asked Harper about her night while driving home. She was cheerful, but tired. Her mind was still on the conversations she had had with Susan. Harper looked for the newspaper as soon as they arrived home. It had been Susan's suggestion to check the classifieds for listings of free kittens. Claiming fatigue, Harper grabbed the paper and retreated to her room. Data gave her a quizzical look, but could not argue. 

There were three listings for kittens. She found a piece of scrap paper and wrote down the numbers and tucked them in the pocket of the pants that she would wear to work tomorrow. They were going to borrow a truck from Alex, her store manager, in the morning, so she took her bath and padded out to say good night. 

~ My nighttime routine is nowhere near the same as before he came, ~ Harper thought to herself. Data was looking for something to watch on TV and Harper found this strange. IQ of what, a million? And he's a couch potato wanna-be. He'd found an old Rambo movie and seemed wrapped up in it. He was sitting forward, staring intensely at the television screen. Harper knew by the expression on his face that Data was analyzing what he was seeing. 

"Good night, Siskel. Ebert's going to bed," she said. She leaned over the arm of the chair and kissed Data on the forehead. Data stiffened as soon as her lips touched him. Harper sensed his apprehension and pulled back. 

"Sorry, must have thought I was one of my story characters for a moment. I'll see you in the morning, Data. Night." She turned from him and immediately looked in frustration at the ceiling. 

~ Who the hell do I think I am? Lessa? Am I going to jump in his lap next and try and drag him to bed? Oh, God, stop thinking! Just stop thinking!!! ~

"Harper, I-" Data began weakly.

"Don't say another word. I told you I'm an affectionate person, but I will make an effort not to feel as comfortable with you as I do. Good-" Data was suddenly on his feet and looking pitiful before her. 

"I did not expect the...good night...kiss. I understand that it does not necessarily denote anything other than affection. I do not object to your having those feelings for me. I share them." He looked very nervous about admitting that. "I regret that my reaction appeared to reflect displeasure." He sighed, apparently at a loss for words. He stood looking at her for another moment before touching her arm lightly and leaning in to kiss her on her forehead. Harper found herself closing her eyes to concentrate on committing this feeling to memory. She didn't want to forget the feel of his lips touching her. It may be the only kiss she ever received from him and she wanted to remember it. 

But it was so brief...

"Good night, Harper. I shall wake you at eight tomorrow." 

"Ok. Night Data." she said in a bemused voice. She wandered down the hall and back to her room, shutting the door behind her. Data watched her until she was out of sight. The feelings he was discovering pulsed through him. Why was it that he could never have an uncomplicated opportunity for a relationship? Was the lesson Q was trying to teach him that emotions were something that he did not want? Data had read extensively on the subject of love and relationships over the years, but he had not found very much that would help him in this situation. How does one stop themselves from falling? 

He needed to concentrate on helping Harper through the mourning that she had never completed. Data knew about mourning. He knew about loss. Tasha, his father, Lal. In some ways Data even mourned the loss of Lore. There had not been many moments with his brother that Data enjoyed, but he had come to almost cherish the few that had taken place. 

Data reviewed the files that he had on mourning and death for relevant entries. In an instant, he had a plan. Tomorrow when Harper came home from work, she would find Data wearing the counselor's hat. 


	6. Chapter Six Attacked

Chapter Six - Attacked

The next morning went off just like Data and Harper had planned. The truck was just what he needed to transport the supplies that were necessary for the house repairs. He unloaded the truck, and Harper got ready to go to work. Harper would drive the truck to work and Alex would pick it up there. Alex's husband had agreed to drive his wife to work and Data would pick up Harper this afternoon. A foolproof plan.

Data came in the store at five before four o'clock and was greeted by Susan, Betty and Alex. He noted that their greeting to him was significantly warmer than the one he had received last week. Even Linda, when he finally saw her, seemed less hostile.

"May have to start calling you by your name if you can keep this job, Bad Company." she mumbled as Data passed her. He raised his eyebrows, but declined to comment.

"Down girl!" Data turned to see Harper returning from the backroom of the store. "He's been a good boy today, so don't pick on him. Haven't you, Jayden?" Harper asked, smiling warmly at him.

He returned her smile. "I believe so. It was a productive day. There is still much to do, but our current financial situation hinders my progress." Harper laughed at this.

"Yeah, being broke sucks!" she agreed.

"It also bites!" he added. Harper looked shocked for a second before dissolving into laughter.

"The best way to not be broke is to stop letting him spend all your money." Linda lectured.

With a sudden flare of temper, Harper turned on the woman. "So, new batteries for our smoke detectors, new siding to replace the broken down old stuff, and sealant to stop the leak in the basement were bad purchases? Come on Linda, give me a break! My house was falling down around me and while I can fix the stuff inside, I am not an outdoorsy type person and hate cleaning up outside. Jayden has improved the condition of my tattered abode and I am grateful to him for lighting a fire under me. So, zip it!"

"Okay don't have to tell me twice," Linda muttered as she moved back to the cash/wrap counter.

Harper turned back to Data and shrugged. "Some people have trouble changing gears. So, did you have any problems today?" She knew the answer to this question, but what the hell.

"No, I truly was quite successful in my efforts today. If you are ready to leave, I will show you." Harper grinned; Data looked very pleased with himself, but it made him just that much more attractive to her. She tried to put that thought aside.

"I'm ready." They said good-bye to the remaining work crew and headed out. In the van, Harper noted the backseat was gone. Why did he do that? she wondered.

They pulled into the driveway and Harper noted how much improved the house looked. The new siding gleamed in the sun and Data had even mowed the grass. He'd painted the front steps with some paint that she had in storage and they were now drying. Inside the garage, she saw the back seat from the van.

"What are you planning on buying now, Data? We really can't afford any more until you get paid." She shut the door to the van and found herself staring at the removed beach.

"We are not buying anything. Rather the reverse." Data came around from the driver's side to stand before her. He looked worried.

"Oh? How so?" Harper asked. He did not reply for several seconds.

"While I know I bare no resemblance to her, I wish you to imagine that you are now talking to Counselor Deanna Troi. You need to fully mourn the loss of Robin Talenger, Harper." Data was purposely standing just close enough to offer her support should she require it. Harper drew herself up and stood firmly instead.

"I have done the best I can with that, Da-Counselor. I don't know what you expect, but I can't just turn these feelings off with a switch."

"So I have also been cautioned. In order to grow as an emotional being, one must experience the emotions and not hide from them or...turn them off." Data gently took Harper's hand and guided her to the door and through to the basement. Boxes neatly lined one wall. All were labeled, but some rather vaguely. The vast majority of them carried Robin's name on the side. Robin's School Memories, Robin's Yearbooks, Robin's Shoes and so on. These were just a few of the ones that were visible.

"Why are we here, Data?" Harper asked, looking displeased. She was not going to like his answer.

"One of the first steps in the healing process is what could be considered a symbolic ritual of letting go of the past by the packing away of items that belonged to the deceased."

"I did that," she pointed at the boxes.

"Yes, but rather than giving them away, you kept them. You have no need for most of these items, Harper. Why are they still here?" It took longer than he had expected, but Harper now looked stunned.

"When the husband dies, his property goes to the wife, unless his will gives it to someone else. Robin left everything to me. These are my things!" she said, defiantly.

"What is the name on this box? Is it your name?" Data asked. He knew that it was important to ask these kinds of questions. Answering them was difficult, but it was moved the process along.

"The name is of my husband." She said between clenched teeth.

"Then I am living with a married woman?" Data asked.

"I am a widow. Don't play with me, Data. This is not a game."

"No, it is reality. It is a painful one, but a reality nonetheless. Where is your late husband, Harper?" he asked, moving one step closer to her. He could see that she was beginning to break.

"In...in Westwood cemetery," Harper whispered.

"Is he ever going to need these clothes again? Or the shoe, will he need them?"

"No," she said, even softer.

"Why are they here?" Data asked her.

It was hard and long and drawn out, but Data had to slowly push Harper into admitting that she only kept them because she just could not let go of what she had left of Robin. She sniffed and tears ran down her face as she went through all of the boxes for the last time. Data had instructed her to pull out any pictures and five mementos. She would be allowed to keep these but everything else was to be taken to Goodwill. Data brought her tissues, food and drink, but would not allow her to leave until it was done. Harper only put up a token resistance, as she knew Data was right.

Fortunately, she was too involved in her own misery to notice that after his stint of being counselor, Data had turned off his emotion chip. The temptation to attempt to ease her suffering was just too strong. He turned it off as soon as he had left her to sort and repack. Ten minutes later Data came to the conclusion that he was falling into his own vicious circle. He had to learn to resist temptation and Harper had to learn to let go.

Data turned the chip back on and suffered right along with Harper.

He wanted to carry the repacked boxes to the van, but his research indicated that if they were not too heavy, Harper should load them in the van and be the one to hand them over to the charity. Data did drive her, though. It was an hour from dark when they arrived at Goodwill. Once she turned over the boxes to the sympathetic clerk, who seemed to sense the reason for the donation, Data held Harper briefly as she said a silent good-bye to items she had clung to for years.

"Harper, how long has it been since you visited Robin's grave?" Data asked her while she rested her head against his chest.

His question was answered by her reaction.

Harper's head came up sharply, but her eyes were pleading.

"No," she begged.

"The cemetery is only twenty three minutes away. Do you wish to purchase some flowers to leave by the grave?" Data tried to sound unemotional, but he hated to see her suffer. It was only the knowledge that this pain would hopefully lead to healing that allowed him to continue. His ethical sub-routines may not be giving him problems, not so his emotions.

"I can't. Please don't make me go, Data," Harper whispered. Suddenly his ethical subroutine was giving him trouble! He wanted to do as she asked. He wanted to take her home and hold her. Hold her close. Cause her to forget her husband and remember him. I am not dead. I am here and I think I want you... See me for what I am, not a dream or an escape, but a being with feelings. Feelings that are turning to you...

No! Something inside Data screamed, She cannot be pushed. She must complete the process and be allowed to heal. She cannot be approached during this time of vulnerability. I cannot use her. If I try to force her to me, I will undermine any of the progress she has made. Harper may never choose me, but she must be free of Robin.

So they went.

Data stayed in the van and just watched her. His feelings ached with the pain she must be feeling. He thought of his own lost loved ones again and of those that were not dead, but just missing to him.

His family. Data had been thought dead before, but this time he assumed they would consider him just missing. Would they still mourn him? He did not think it vanity to believe that they would miss him. He missed them all intensely, but he had not given up hope that he would see them all again...one day...maybe. But missing those he loved from the Enterprise did not change the fact that his presence was needed here, now.

Could it be that the lesson was Harper's to learn and not teach? Q was not known for honesty. Actually that fact that he had told Data anything at all was unusual. Still, if the entity appeared next to Data right now and again offered to take him home, Data would again have to decline.

He was needed here.

Data drove Harper home. She was silent for the entire journey.

In the house and up the stairs, he walked behind her. Harper trudged spiritlessly before him. Without a word, she went to her bedroom and threw herself on her bed. She failed, however, to close her door. She sobbed for over an hour before finally falling asleep.

Data came in to check on her and found that she had not removed her shoes. He carefully slipped them from her feet and put them on the floor beside her bed. Unfortunately his actions caused Harper to wake with a frightened start.

"What are you doing?" she asked angrily.

"Removing your shoes. I did not want you to dirty your bed. The bottoms-"

"What else were you planning on removing?" Harper accused. Data recoiled, but she wasn't done. "Get out! I don't enter your room unless invited and I expect the same courtesy from you. Get out!" She was almost screaming at him. Due to his long legs and superior agility he was able to make it out and close her door before the shoe could hit him.

"I think she has moved from denial to anger," Data noted out loud as he returned to the living room.

Sunday morning Harper only glared at him. Data offered to drive her to work and this was all the excuse she needed to explode.

"It's my damn van, remember? I have not forgotten how to drive just because you appeared! I'm taking my van and driving to work. I don't need any damn help from you, got it?" She seethed.

Data backed away slightly and exited the kitchen. He was sealing the basement and had planned to wash the laundry, including their bed linens...but he wondered if she would remember and pull them off her bed for him. Data decided against doing this himself but was hesitant to bring the matter to her attention just now.

Harper left for work and Data sighed with relief. Perhaps denial was better than this. His research in the matter indicated the next stage was self-recrimination or bargaining. He could not see how she could blame herself from the details he had pieced together, but it was too late to bargain. As a result Data did not know what to expect from her next.

He returned upstairs to find that Harper had indeed forgotten about the bed linens. Steeling himself, Data went to the phone.

"Good Morning Miss Betty, this is Jayden. No, I do not believe it would be best if I spoke with Harper at this time. She is angry with me. Will you please ask her if I may attend to the washing that we agreed upon Wednesday? Yes, thank you I will wait." He heard Betty put down the phone and after a moment the woman came back.

"Yes, thank you, Miss Betty. I will attend to it at once. Thank you again. Good-bye." Data hung up the phone and headed for Harper's room.

Betty hung up the phone and turned to face a steaming Harper.

"What happened with you two? You finding out why his wife threw him out?" Betty asked. She was using her high-pitched 'this is bad' voice.

"His what? Oh, right. No, I mean...He's just trying to take over my life and I'll be damned if any man is going to tell me what I am or am not going to do." Harper said this in a hush, so that no customers could hear her. They were both standing in the cash/wrap, but people were all around.

"You were fine yesterday-"

"Well, that was yesterday, this is today. Keep up!" Harper snapped angrily.

Once the workday was through, Harper was exhausted. She walked to her van and stared at it. She didn't want to drive home. HE was there and she was still pissed at HIM. Robin's face drifted into her mind.

"Gonna play you like a harp," She could hear her husband's voice. She leaned against the van and closed her eyes. "How's the harpy I married?" She could feel Robin's arms wrapping around her middle and his breath on her neck. He always liked to tease her before he would kiss her. Hot, curl your toes kisses.

"You should be here. Damn you, why did you leave me? Why couldn't you have just turned the damned steering wheel! Why did I marry a man too stupid to just avoid being hit! You would think a semi was large enough that you would notice it coming at you. How large did it have to be for you to notice it and just turn the God damned wheel?" Harper was not making any real sense, but she didn't know this. She was too lost in her grief to realize that she was arguing with a ghost.

Harper didn't remember walking to the pay phone, but here she was. She put the money in and dialed her number. Data answered on the first ring.

"I'm going out for a while. I'll be in later," she informed him curtly.

"You do not sound well, should you not come home?" Data asked, gently. His effort to not upset her was wasted.

"I can go anywhere I want to! You don't have any claim on me and I owe you nothing! You damn men are more trouble than you're worth. I called so you wouldn't worry. I shouldn't have bothered. You men never remember to call!" She slammed the receiver down so hard that she thought for a moment that it would break.

There was a bench just a few meters away, so Harper made her way to it. It was after seven o'clock and the mall was closed. It wasn't dark, but even security was clearing out. It may not have been wise to be here at this time, but Harper wasn't thinking clearly and nothing short of a terrorist attack was going to pull her from her misery.

Harper remembered Melody when they had found out that Robin had been killed instantly in a head on collision.

"I'm glad he didn't suffer. I couldn't have stood it if Daddy suffered." Melody had said. She had taken days to cry. Harper had taken years to stop. Harper had been so confused at Robin's funeral. She kept wondering where Robin was. He was late. If he didn't show up soon people would think him rude. This was a formal affair, she had been thinking. Everyone is so dressed up, but in such somber colours! Why was she here? Where was that Robin? She was going to have to work on that man. Harper still remembered her confusion like it was yesterday. All the things she couldn't remember and this she couldn't forget.

"Hey, Legs. You need a ride somewhere?"

Harper was pulled from her turmoil to see a young man, maybe in his early twenties, dark haired and wearing clothes that did not seem to fit even though he was not small. She had always despised this 'fashion'.

"No, I'm good, thanks," she answered, not looking afraid at all. Harper was born up north and had never hesitated in walking the streets of the big city alone. She knew how to handle herself...most of the time. She dismissed him and went back to her thoughts, but was instantly alerted to the fact that he was not moving anything but his head. He was looking her up and down.

"Those pants fit you nicely, how hard are they to take off?"

"Bad ideas seem to be floating in your head. But you've picked the wrong target. I've taken plenty of self defense courses and I'm in a really bad mood, so don't fuck with me!" The fury that Harper had harnessed this morning with Data was again at her fingertips, and she knew how to use it to inflict quite a bit of pain on a male.

Since he chose to ignore her warning, Harper came to her feet, leaving her purse on the bench. While most women had a good weapon in their bags, Harper never carried enough to do any damage. She stood her ground, making sure that her footing was solid and her knees slightly bent. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Leave now," she commanded in an almost sultry tone, but her stance was challenging.

"You don't know who you're messing with, but I'm gonna show you. You got fire though. Like a little fire in my women." He paced around her for a moment, but lunged suddenly. He made to grab her by the hair, but Harper had brought her hands together, linking her fingers to make a larger fist. She swung her arms up to deflect his attack and when he was knocked slightly off balance, she brought her arms down again and smacked him in the nose...hard.

"Bitch!" he screamed. He grabbed his nose to see blood. "I'm gonna fuck you over for that, bitch!" Enraged, he threw his body against her and knocked her onto the bench.

Her legs flew out from under her and they both went down on the bench. Harper just missed hitting her head on the armrest by inches, but the breath was still knocked out of her. Her torso was pinned and this made her fighting less effective. But she didn't give up! He was much bigger than her, though and his weight alone was hard to counter. Harper did her best to wiggle and squirm out from under him, but he had one arm latched on to the side of the bench, blocking her escape.

She had to think!

His eyes!

He was trying to pull at her shirt and she was having trouble fighting her revulsion enough to get a clear shot.

"Do anything other than move away from her, and it will force me to injure you!"

The slime looked up to see Data standing there, in his prepared for action stance.

"Don't be a hero, fool. You can't take me. Too small." Slime said, with a very threatening expression on his face. He did not move off of Harper.

"I may be smaller in stature, but I am solidly built. Remove yourself now. I will not ask again."

Slime seemed amused. "Be right back, baby. Have to swat a fly," he said to Harper as he rose to tackle Data.

"I wouldn't bet on that," she spat under her breath, but he heard her.

"Then you'll lose that too." He got to his feet and Harper sat up hoping that Data could keep from killing the slime.

"Don't kill him, Commander," she cautioned, not wanting to use any name.

"I will make every effort to avoid it," Data replied. He sounded pissed!

Slime threw a punch and Data grabbed the creep's hand before it could make contact. Slime tried to hit him with the other hand, and Data just deflected this one with no apparent effort.

"You cannot hope to win. I suggest you surrender before you are injured permanently." Data informed him. Slime didn't like this suggestion.

"She yours?" he asked Data, as he pulled the hand that Data had captured back. Data allowed him.

"No, I am not even sure she is speaking to me. She is angry with me." Data glanced at Harper as he said this, but was still able to easily dodge the next punch.

"You asked for it. Did you expect me to be happy yesterday?" Harper shouted at Data, wondering at her sanity for yelling at him, now.

"It was necessary. You were still in denial. You have now moved into anger." Data informed Harper as he continued to dodge and deflect.

"Thanks for the update! I hope you made my bed up; I'm going to be tired after all this. Are you going to let him keep lunging at you like that?" she gripped. She knew Data was in no danger.

"I'm gonna get you, and then get her while you watch!" screamed the slime.

"What do you suggest I do with him? Should we take him to the authorities?" Data grabbed one of the man's fists again to insure that he could not escape. Data's jaw looked set with fury in reaction to the attacker's threats.

"Can you knock him out good?" Since Data was facing her and the slime was not, Harper made a motion that she hoped Data would recognize as the Vulcan neck pinch and shrugged. Data nodded and moving to close the distance between himself and the thug, he reached out for the correct spot. The slime stiffened with a gasp and collapsed in a heap on the ground. Data disregarded the man and came to help Harper to her feet.

"Did he injury you?" he asked, very worried.

"Just knocked the breath out of me. Thanks for the save, but why are you here?" Data had not released her hand, so Harper pulled it away gently. She was still not happy with him.

"I felt certain that you were not in the proper state of mind to drive a long distance. I reasoned that if you simply wished to avoid me that it would be logical to remain here. You do have strong practical tendencies. You are certain you sustained no injures?" Data was looking her up and down as though he did not believe her and was looking for a sign of blood. He found one. He touched her neck and wiped it off, but found no trace of a wound beneath it.

"I hit him in the nose. He bled on me." Data looked startled, but relieved.

"You injured him?" he asked, looking like he wanted to believe, but was not sure.

"Yes. I took self-defense courses. I'm not helpless." Harper tried to walk over to the pay phone, but as she was known for doing, she began to react to the danger of the moments past. Her hands began to shake and her insides seemed to trying to come out through her skin. She felt awful! Data took note of her sudden change of condition and coaxed her back to the bench.

"What happened?" he asked confused.

"I'm good in a crisis, but after it's over I fall apart...figuratively," she explained, shaking and staring at the man. "He wanted to..."

"But he did not. Your own attempts to fight him off gave me the time to arrive and you are undamaged...physically. He will awaken soon, we need to call the authorities." Data had taken a seat beside her and she reached over to touch his knee.

"Call the police on the pay phone. 911 is free. Use my voice," Harper instructed, her voice shaking.

"Why do you wish me to use your voice?" Data asked, getting to his feet.

"Because you're going to hide. Do you want to be interrogated?" she asked. "That would be the moment the holo-disguise decided to malfunction." He looked at her funny.

"The holo-disguise as just a device I have stored in my right forearm, Harper. It does not have access to my cognitive functions. It cannot decide anything." He informed her. Harper covered her eyes with her hands and sighed.

"Then how about fate? Could fate be the one to cause it to malfunction? It would you know, and you would be in some scientist's lab quicker than you could calculate pi to a thousand decimal places. Listen to me; call, report the crime, I'll stay here you go around the corner and jump on the roof or something. You can keep an eye out for me and keep out of sight." Her shaking was subsiding as her frustration with him was growing. Perhaps that was good, Data decided.

Data called the police and did use Harper's voice as she had instructed. The slime was coming around as soon as Data hung up the phone so Data promptly applied pressure to just the right area on the slime's shoulder to knock him out again.

"The response time is great here. You can hide now. I'll be fine," Harper assured him, but her shaking was on the rise again.

"I do not believe that this has been properly thought out, Harper. What will happen now?"

"They'll arrest him and ask me for a statement. I'll give them one. It will work out. Now be quiet and hide!" she shouted. Data reluctantly hid.

The police arrived in only three-minutes and twenty two seconds. The slime only woke up after they had him in handcuffs, but he started cussing as soon as he was. A female officer spoke with Harper and took a brief 'on the scene' statement. Harper was then asked to come to the station to make a full statement and formally press charges against Slime.

Harper was taken by squad car to the station and Slime was taken in a separate car to jail. Once the officers had all vacated the scene, Data emerged. He had seen Harper covertly drop her van keys in the bushes for him to retrieve. He did so and went back to the house to wait Harper's call as she had asked the female officer if she could call her 'boyfriend' to come pick her up from the station. The officer had promised to allow her to use the phone as soon as they were done at the station.

It took one hour and thirty-seven minutes of waiting before the call finally came.

"What has been happening?" Data asked, more forcefully than he had intended.

"Why are you worried? I was at the police station. I'm safe here. They had to question me about everything. I was beginning to think they would ask my favorite colour, favorite ice cream and when was the last time I had sex...I mean...shit! I can't believe I really said that. Guess I'm still upset. Come get me, I want to go to bed...I mean sleep. Oh, God!" Harper sounded more frustrated than embarrassed.

"I am on my way, Harper. I should arrive in under fifteen minutes," Data assured her.

"I'll be waiting. Bye."

When Data arrive at the station, Harper was sitting in a chair out in the main reception area. A female in a blue pantsuit was talking to her. Harper looked up at Data's entrance but the other woman said something that caused Harper to remain seated. The woman came over to him and offered her hand.

"Jayden Soong? I'm Theresa Samples. I'm a crisis counselor and a liaison for the department and the DA's office. May I speak with you for a moment before you take Miss Talenger home?" At his nod, the counselor directed Data to walk with her a little further away from Harper.

"She is unharmed?" he asked, knowing that he was not supposed to have much information.

"She did more physical damage to him than he did to her, but she's not handling this very well. She's not even reacting normally for a victim of this type of assault. She's angry where she should be frightened. She's frightened where she should be relieved. I believe that she may need counseling for a while to help her deal with this trauma."

"Miss Samples, perhaps I can shed some light on the reasons for her unusual reactions. She is in mourning." The woman looked stunned and confused.

"Who's death is she mourning? She made no mention of one."

"He husband died five years ago, but she remained in denial until I recently forced her to deal with her grief. I believe she has entered the second stage of anger, but has not progressed passed it. I am concerned as to the affect this attack with have on her progress in this area as well as her ability to cope with this added trauma."

"Are you a counselor of some sort?" Samples asked, more confused.

"No, I attempted to persuade her to return to her counselor, but she refused and I could understand her reasons. However, I felt that it was vital for her mental health that she confronted her repressed grief. I was left with no alternative but to help her to face it myself."

"While I can agree that hiding from one's grief is not healthy, I still believe that she needs professional help. Here's my card and here's a prescription for a mild sedative to help her sleep tonight. Have her call and make an appointment or do it for her, but one of you call. I can see that you care about her and that you're trying to do what's best for her, but you're trying too hard. Admirable, but foolhardy. This is my job and I know what I'm talking about. Let me help. Ok?" Data just smiled.

"I will talk with her and attempt to gain her compliance. I cannot guarantee success. She is very headstrong at times." Miss Samples smiled understandingly.

"Try very hard. Get that filled tonight and get her to take it. Keep an eye on her tonight and call this number if you have any questions. This is a crisis hotline number. Does she work?" Data nodded. "Is she due to work tomorrow?" again he nodded. "I'll write her a doctor's excuse. You work I assume?" a third nod. "If you can, stay home with her. If you can't, that's okay but call her and check on her every couple of hours. Any questions?"

"How close of an eye should I keep on her tonight?" he asked, recalling that Harper had not wanted him in her room last night and Data wondered if he would have to stand just outside the door and watch her all night. He was willing, but he suspected that Harper would not be.

"Well, don't try to initiate sexual contact tonight or the next few nights. It would be best if you let her take the lead in when she's ready for it again. Even thought the attempted rape was not successful, her reactions to your advances may be the same as a rape victim's. Be prepared for her to be afraid of your touch. It may take a while for her to get past that, so don't try to force her. In her mind she may see you as her attacker and try to fight off your advances. Just be patient and your sexual relationship could return to almost normal in a short period of time."

Data was too stunned by her assumption that he and Harper had a sexual relationship to respond properly. All he could manage was a weak, "Thank you, Miss Samples." He turned, still stunned, to go to Harper. Sitting beside her, he kept the counselor's warning in mind and did not touch her.

"She gave me orders to keep you from going to work tomorrow. She is going to write you an excuse. I assume that is similar to Deanna calling the captain and asking for someone to be temporarily relieved of duty?" Data asked his housemate in a hushed tone.

"Yes. Can we leave when she gives us the excuse?" Harper asked, whispering back.

"I believe so. I am to give you this, but I do not understand why and how it will help you sleep. What does 'get it filled' mean?" Harper took the prescription from his hand and smiled.

"It means we have to stop at the drug store before we go home. I know of one that's open late on Sunday."

"Ah!" he said, and she smiled at the familiar mannerism. "I am also instructed to keep an eye on you tonight. As you were upset but my attempt to remove your soiled shoes last evening and seemed convinced that I would attempt to remove other-"

"It's possible that I overreacted last night. I was very angry with you and I still am, but I know you were just there for the shoes. Sorry." Harper offered the apology begrudgingly. "So she told you to drug me, watch me, and keep me home from work. Anything else?"

"She asked me to see that you made an appointment to see her regarding this incident and your grieving process." Data worried how Harper would respond to this.

"No! Anything else?" Data was dismayed by her succinct refusal, but the only other order he had received he was hesitant to mention. But she was already angry with him and Data did not want to further incur her wrath by refusing her request. He nervously replied.

"She told me that I was not to initiate sexual contact with you, but that I should allow you to initiate it. Why did she say this?" He asked this in a hushed voice that reflected his discomfort.

Harper was floored! She jumped to her feet stared at Data, aghast. After a moment she replayed his statement in her head and also remembered that she had referred to Jayden as her boyfriend because she doubted anyone would believe him otherwise. No one ever believed that a man and a woman could live together and only share a platonic relationship. Naturally the shrink had warned Data against what she assumed he would want. After all, men often used sex as a way of establishing their territory. 'I've had sex with her, she's mine!' It was barbaric, but it was still a part of the male psyche. And it was also related to why some men raped... Harper imagined the thoughts running through Data's head as this counselor warned him against trying to sleep with her. Suddenly it seemed ridiculously funny.

Harper sat back down and stared at Data's shoes.

"I told them that you were my boyfriend, because it was less of a hassle. You tell people that you live with a man and no one believes you if you say there's nothing going on between you. I'm too tired to fight, so I just said boyfriend. I didn't think about her talking to you. Sorry."

"I believe I understand. I must admit to being quite unprepared for my emotional response to her assumption. How did you react?" he asked, still unnerved.

"She only told me not to be surprised if I reacted sharply the next time I was touched. You almost never touch me and at work no men usually do, so I wasn't really worried," she explained. The counselor came back out of her office and handed the work excuse to Harper, informing her that she should stay home tomorrow. After that Samples thanked Harper for her cooperation and sent the pair on their way. Data of course drove, but Harper didn't really mind this time.

They picked up the sedative at the drugstore and finally headed home. Data was very much at a loss in how to react once they were home. He wanted to keep a close eye on Harper, as the counselor had instructed, but Harper seemed to want to be alone. He was torn between respecting Harper's privacy and fearing that left alone she may need him, but he would not be there to know.

"I know that you wish a bath, Harper. I strongly suggest that you take a shower. I want you to return to the living room in no more than thirty minutes so that I may dispense your sedative. Will you do as I ask, please?" His tone was gentle, caring and firm. She had a great deal of trouble arguing with him when he looked like this.

"I'll shower." She turned to go. "Be back," she assured him. Her voice held almost no emotion and that worried Data. In the car Harper had told him that the he could not stay home with her tomorrow since he had just started a new job and it would look bad.

"Surely the fact that you were attacked-" Data had argued.

"Only if you lie too, and tell them that I'm your girlfriend. I'll be okay I'll probably call work and tell them what happened and go right back to sleep." She had refused to be swayed in this just as she had refused to be swayed in her refusal to see a counselor.

Data was convinced this was well beyond his ability to cope with alone. He needed outside intervention, but knew of so few people here. Locating Harper's telephone list from her second job, Data considered whom he should call. Betty seemed the most logical choice. She was older and seemed sensible. He also knew that she had a great deal of affection for Harper.

Data had no trouble at all in enlisting the woman's aid. She agreed to call Harper tomorrow and also agreed to be available should he feel the need for female advice. Relieved, he went to Harper's bedroom door to listen for her progress. The water was running in the shower, but he could not quiet his fears that she could be in danger.

He went to the computer and did what he did best. He looked up information on sexual and physical assault, in addition to the victim's and the victim's family's reactions. Though they had neither formal arrangement nor a relationship that could truly be considered that familiar, he was the closest thing Harper had to family since he did live in the same house with her. Harper's daughter would need to be informed of what had happened, but Data could not attend to this as Melody was not aware that her mother was living with a...man.

The information that Data found on the web told him that his frustration and confusion were normal and that he should also expect some anger. This was a relief as he had experienced a great deal of anger when he had come upon the man when he was on top of his housemate. Instantly, Data also realized that thinking of Harper as '_his housemate'_ was an attempt to assign a possessive quality to his relationship to her. This realization stunned him. He wished he had the time to further analyze his feelings in this matter, but finding out what to expect from Harper was paramount at this time.

Data located a site that listed do's and don'ts in supporting a victim of assault. He kept this simple list in mind as he went back to her door. The water was off now, but he could hear no movement. Returning to the kitchen, Data retrieved one of the sedatives and a glass of water. Back at her door, he still could hear nothing...excepted for quiet breathing.

"Harper. Are you-" he did not want to ask if she was all right, as he knew that she was not. "Dressed?" he finished.

"Yes, Data." she answered softly.

"May I come in, please?" he asked through the door.

"Yes," came her insipid response. He could hear that she was not moving and the door was locked. The design of the door was such that he could easily unlock it, but...

"Harper, the door is locked. Do you wish to unlock it or shall I?"

"You can."

He did not hesitate any longer. He opened the door to see her in a long flannel nightgown of white with pink rosebuds. Her feet were bare and her hair was wet and uncombed. She was sitting on the end of her bed, with her hands in her lap, staring at the wall in front of her.

The list Data had read instructed him to allow Harper as much control as she was willing to take. It warned against giving her orders and forcing her to do anything. Once he had read this, he recalled firmly asking her to take a shower instead of a bath, but Data felt it a necessary evil. He simply did not like the thought of her slipping in the water or falling asleep and... Harper was out of the water and he needed to focus on now.

"Would you like the sedative now? I brought it for you," he said, showing her the pill and the glass of water.

"Okay," she answered. She took the pill that he dropped into her hand and drank down the water in her glass. When she handed it back, Data went to the kitchen and put it away. He returned to find her still staring. He did not want to leave her.

"Your hair is disordered. Would you like me to attend to it for you?" Data asked.

"Okay," came the sluggish response after a moment. Data retrieved Harper's brush from her bathroom and stood beside her to brush her hair as gently as he was able.

"How are you feeling, Harper?" Data asked as he gathered strand by straightened strand.

"Weak," was all Harper said.

"Why do you feel weak? Your countermeasures against the attacker were quite impressive, Harper. I could see you from quite a distance and you were defending yourself efficiently. Had you not been so close to the bench, I believe that you could have escaped him. You were attempting something when I arrived, will you tell me what it was, please?" Data wanted to get her talking and to see that she had done well in her efforts to resist her attacker.

"I was trying to poke him in the eyes since I couldn't move anything other than my arms and hands." Her reply still had no feeling behind it, but she was talking.

"Excellent reasoning," Data complimented her. "Had you proceeded, it is possible that you could have disabled him without my intervention. Your initial attack stance was innovative and successful. You deflected his first attack with alacrity. Your response was perfectly timed. You heeded your defense instructors well." Data completed brushing her hair.

Harper seemed to notice that he had stopped and looked up at him. "I know what you're thinking. If I'd come home like I was supposed to, this never would've happened."

Data had expected this and was prepared. "I wish that you did come home. But because you chose to stay there and be alone, did not give him the right to attack you, Harper. I understand your motivation. I cannot understand nor condone his. I do not blame you. I blame him. Please do not blame yourself. You-"

"But I am to blame! I know better than to sit in an empty mall, alone. I should've come home like you told me too," she insisted.

Data sat next to her on the bed, but rejected the urge to take her hand. "You are not to blame. It is natural for one to blame themselves, but you did not make the conscience choice to hurt someone. He did. He would have hurt you and me as well, were I human. You fought back. You should be proud that you did not allow him to hurt you then. Do not allow him to now. You are stronger than that. I know you are." His words reach her, but he was not sure until she slowly leaned over and rested her head against him. He felt intense emotional warmth fill his chest as she relaxed into him.

"Counselor Samples told me not to touch you, Harper, unless you wanted me to."

"Just hold me," she whispered. He could hear the tiniest hint of resolve in her voice. A touch of strength. An inkling of will.

Slowly, as to not frighten her, Data wrapped a single arm around Harper's shoulders.

Harper was waiting for him to bring his other arm around her, but Data did not move. She remembered how the counselor had told Data not to be intimate with her and that Harper had told him that Samples had warned her about a bad reaction to being touched. Harper realized that Data was only going to touch her if necessary and as little a possible.

This realization hit her with two feelings; it made her again ache of the comforting hand of her long dead husband and made her feel very lonely in the half embrace of her most trusted new friend. This attack had pushed Data way from her and even if there was no intimacy between them, there was still a loss. Data had not been hesitant to touch Harper; it was just not necessary for him to touch her often. Still, he would take her hand or hold her willingly when she was upset, but now he would distance himself. Slipping deeper into depression, Harper was not able to tell him that this was the exact opposite of what she needed.

Tears rolled soundlessly down her face.

The lack of sobs caused a delay in Data's awareness of her crying. His sensed moisture on his shirt and looking down, saw the wet streaks lining her cheeks. He released her and rose to get a tissue from her bedside table. In doing so, Data caught sight of something that caused a sharp reaction. He was monetarily stunned by what he saw sitting innocently on her table.

Why was this here?! Why did Harper have THIS here?

Data pushed the fierce reaction and emotions away. This was not the time. But this would be dealt with. He would have to wait until she was able to deal with him, but she would explain it then. He retrieved the tissues and went back to Harper; still sitting with shoulders slumped at the foot of the bed. He handed her the tissues, but she didn't seem to notice.

The words of a gentle command to dry her eyes were on his tongue when he decided that this would fall into the 'don't' side of the list he had read. He sat back down next to her and dried her eyes himself. It was a pointless exercise as the tears were replaced in seconds.

"Why are you crying, Harper?" he asked, hoping her could coax her out of this.

"I..." She could not bring herself to tell him of the forces that seemed to be pulling her apart. She felt so alone. His arms could be her salvation, but she just couldn't make herself ask again. He should not even be here. He was an important man. A unique being. The only Soong-type android functioning and with knowledge of his superior nature. Yet, here he was acting like a nursemaid for her. Making her coffee in the morning. Driving her to work. Fixing up her house. It was ridiculous! Q was being cruel to Data again! Causing him to be a prisoner here was a travesty. It was a supreme waste of Data's talents and abilities to be here with her. He could not let his true nature be known or allow it to be seen.

He had to be...human.

Just Human.

And it was all her fault!

She wasn't important. She was not a star or a president or anyone of ANY importance. She was just a simple, pitiful woman who didn't have the sense to come home when the man with the IQ of millions told her to!

"I don't understand why Q would send you here. What purpose could there be? I'm a nobody! To stupid to realize that I should have come home when I should. You should not be here. It's a waste for you to be here. I'm sorry I'm wasting your time, Data." Harper was sobbing loudly now. Her little speech told Data that while she was suffering from guilt over her actions that led to her being attacked, she was simultaneously progressing down the path of mourning. As bargaining with a deity for Robin's return would be too late at this point, she had jumped ahead to depression. Hopefully this would be her last stop before she accepted her loss and could then leave her obsession with Data behind. Maybe they could even move to a real relationship that could be beneficial for both of them.

"We could question my being here for days and it would gain us nothing. The fact is that I am here. While I do indeed miss the life that I once had and may or may not have again, I am not...unhappy here." Data worried about this next move, but felt it vital to combat her depression and guilt over his being here. He lifted her chin and turned her head with a gentle touch of his fingers. Red and swollen eyes looked into amber eyes full of concern.

"Do you wish me gone? If you woke up tomorrow to find me missing, would you be disconcerted?"

"I would miss you," she admitted, reluctantly. "But don't you wish you were home and not stuck here with me?" she asked, sure Data would say he would.

"I am where I am. I see no point in belaboring this issue. I do not have the power to change my circumstances and while the circumstances have not been ideal, I am learning. It is more difficult to understand a culture from the outside. At this time I am...on the inside. I hope that once I can be of assistance with our financial situation, that there will be more opportunities for us to explore your culture. I have many questions and there are many things I wish to see. You have been working too much to even have much free time to enjoy your life. I hope that I can change that. I believe that we can help each other. If you allow it, I believe that you will learn and enjoy the experience with me." His eyes seemed filled with anticipation of imagined wonders yet to be discovered. Harper found it startling what an affect Data's change in attitude could have on her.

But she was tired. The emotional day was taking a toll on her. Data offered to make her some canned soup and she accepted. After eating, Harper told Data she was going to bed. He told her that if she needed anything that he would be happy to help her in any way.


	7. Chapter Seven Getting Over It

Chapter Seven – Getting Over It

Monday morning Data woke Harper at 6:45 AM. He had to go to work, but Harper would need to wait until 8:00 to call in to her office. He brought her the telephone, promised to call her from work at exactly 8:00 and instructed her to go back to sleep for now. Harper admitted this would have all been easier if she just kept a phone in her bedroom, but she didn't like to. Data just told her to call him if she needed anything today and that he would come home, or if it was not vital, he would pick it up on his way back from work. Harper agreed, thanking him, but felt like she should be kissing him good-bye. Instead she just thought about how handsome he looked in his dark blue suit and tie. He had sat hesitantly on the edge of her bed, so she was able to look him over and make sure he looked perfect. She straitened the tie that was fine before she touched it and nodded her approval.

When Data was gone, Harper could not get back to sleep. The house felt oddly empty without Data there. She hadn't been in the house alone since the moment he had arrived. It was nice in the sense that she didn't have to worry about him seeing something or feel guilty over him waiting on her hand and foot. Yet there was no one to talk to, and she had gotten used to having someone here...again.

She hated to sit here and cry, but the damn tears wouldn't stop. Harper plucked a tissue from the box on her bedside table and wiped her eyes. She glanced over and looked at the picture of Data and the Queen. Harper wished that this picture was just of Data, but she was careful to keep it... Shock suddenly filled her.

Oh, my God! He was here last night...gotten a tissue for her...I didn't even noticed the thing was left out.

Data had seen it!

There was no way he hadn't.

Harper decided that she had to be the worst excuse for a human being there ever was! Data was going to hate her before long!

This was the last straw, she decided. Harper got out of bed, headed to the basement, and found an empty box. Heading back upstairs, she went through every inch of the house and packed up every item that pertained to Data. Turning on the computer, she deleted every item there that pertained to him there. Once this was done she took the full box, labeled it "Star Trek" and put it down stairs. She had left the DVD's of the Next Generation that she had upstairs but she took them to her room and put them in a storage area in her closet.

She would not inadvertently hurt him again!

Looking at the clock, she saw that it was just before eight. She knew that one of the ladies in the office always got there early so Harper placed the call to the office now. Carmen was very shocked to hear what had happened to Harper, but was sympathetic. Carmen told Harper that she should not worry about a thing. They would miss her, but would be able to limp along without her for a few days. Harper assured her that she would be in Tuesday.

Data arrived at Comp-Tech early and waited until his superior arrived. Data asked if he could speak to the man for a moment, so Collin Windsor told Jayden Soong to have a seat in the large office that he occupied.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Soong?" he asked with a friendly smile.

"At this time, I require nothing, I simply wished to inform you of...something that has occurred. My housemate was...attacked yesterday evening and while she escaped physically unharmed, she was quite disturbed by what happened." Mr. Windsor looked wide-eyed and his smile vanished.

"I'm very sorry to hear of this. I'm surprised that you came to work today if this happened just last night." He looked truly confused, though sympathetic.

"I suggested my remaining at home with her, but she rejected this stating that it would not 'look good' since I have only been in your employ for one week." Data explained.

"She's a brave woman and thoughtful. Were it anyone of my other employees I might just agree with her, but you are already surpassing all my expectations. You have completed assignments not due for two weeks. Do you think your girlfriend will be all right alone?" This question surprised Data. Data had referred to Harper as his housemate, but Mr. Windsor and assumed that she was his girlfriend...just like Harper had talked about last night.

"I am not certain, sir. She most likely would have preferred me with her, but my income here is vital for our survival. We could not jeopardize-"

"Jayden. I appreciate your dedication, but your mind is going to be at home with your girlfriend and I think we can let you go early for today. I haven't had this particular kind of thing happen to my wife or me, but it happened to my brother's wife. He had to stay home with her for a week. Listen, I have some items for you today, but as soon as you complete them, you can go home. I don't want you thinking you have a heartless bastard for a boss." The man smiled gently and got to his feet. Coming around his desk to shake Data's hand, and pat him on the back.

"Oh, if she...what's her name, Jayden?"

"Harper Talenger, sir." Windsor nodded.

"If your Harper needs any counseling, I have the number of the lady that my brother's wife spoke to. Rachel raves about her, so let me know and I'll get you the number if you want."

"Thank you, sir. Harper did speak with a counselor at the police station last night, but I will mention your offer to her. Thank you again, sir." Data got to his feet and after a final handshake, returned to his desk.

At exactly eight o'clock Data called home...and got a busy signal. He became worried, but forced himself to look into the work he had to complete before he could go home. It was not going to take long. He waited five minutes and called Harper again.

"Hi," she answered when Data announced himself.

"You were not sleeping?"

"No, I couldn't relax." She thought about bringing up the picture of the Queen on her bedside table, but rejected this idea. That would be a face-to-face talk. "The house is too quiet without you here. Can't sleep."

"I was not aware that I have been...noisy. I will attempt to pay closer attention to the sounds I create in the future." He sounded confused and disturbed that she thought he was a loud housemate. The memory of Betty complaining about her lover's snoring came to mind.

"Do you snore, Jayden?" she asked, and immediately wondered why.

"No, I have always been told that was not an admirable human tendency. I decided not to incorporate that into my...I have not...I do not snore. Why do you ask, Harper?"

"I'm not sure why I asked. My mind's not working right. I don't think you're loud, Jayden. I just...miss you. But, I'm okay and I don't want you to worry. I'll be okay until you get home." She assured him. Data did not sound convinced. Harper told him that she had already called work and he assumed this was the reason for the busy signal.

"Harper, are you going to call Melody and inform her of what took place?" She sounded upset at this question, but Data reminded her that she had not spoken to her daughter in over a week and that she still had not informed the girl that her mother was now living with...him. Harper promised to call her daughter.

Data had decided not to tell her that he was coming home early just in case something came up that prevented his early departure.

But nothing happened and Data was in the van and driving home just after noon.

He did stop by the grocery store and purchased a few items that he knew they needed and went home.

Harper was happy to see him, but was still quiet. Her depression had descended again and had a firm grip on her. The day was warm and she was sitting outside on the front steps when Data came to join her. He sat next to her on the step.

"You did something with the boxed doll of me." Harper looked up to make sure this was not a question. His still just looked worried.

"Yeah. I packed it away. Time to wake up and realize that it was bothering you. I put away all the stupid stuff that could offend you, including the picture I had on my bedside table." She looked Data straight in his blue eyes. "Sorry, Jayden. I should have gotten rid of it the first day, but I was being selfish." She looked very apologetic, but he was still bothered by the pictures presence there.

"What was the significance of that image to you? Why did you have it there?" Data tried not to sound hurt, but he was very disturbed that Harper had a picture on her table of one of his most troubling days.

"In the picture you are almost smiling. I don't have many of you smiling. The reason its there is because it's laminated and I use it as a coaster. I'm very sorry you saw it there, Jayden. I know I upset you again. That's why I went through the house and boxed up everything. I'm tired of upsetting you. I'm gonna try and stop doing it. I hope you can forgive me. I really am sorry." For some reason the tears started again. He had not meant to make her cry and was dismayed by the sudden burst of emotion from her. He wanted to hold her, but he again could hear Miss Samples warning. He was startled when Harper jumped to her feet and started to walk away into the grass. He got to his feet and chased after her.

"Why can't I just stop it? I keep finding ways to tick you off!" Harper roared.

"I am not ticked off," Data assured her, "I am...I was stunned to see that image and confused by seeing it there. I thought you understood how this incident...affected me. I must have been wrong," he said sadly.

"I think I do understand. Mostly anyway. But I...I have to let go of everything else and 't let go of it all." Harper seemed so remorseful, but that picture...why did it have to be that picture!

"Could you not have clung to any other image? Were I..." He lowered his voice and continued, "Were I human I would have been trying very hard to forget that ever happened, Harper. I cannot forget it unless I remove- I have to live with these images, but I had hoped that you understood...came close to understanding what I felt...how confusing...how...exciting...." Data was experiencing a bit of depression of his own mixed with intense anger. He could not continue this conversation. She was not ready to have this conversation. Data turned and went back into the house.

Harper followed quickly behind him. She closed the front door, but turned to see him stomping off towards his bedroom. She knew he wasn't tired, just tired of her. But she still had to try. She owed it to him.

"Data, wait. Please, listen to me. Please wait!" He made it to his room, but did not close the door. Harper ran in after him. But how did she explain why she kept that damn picture? She had stared at that picture so many times. She'd watched that scene so many times. Imagined the scenes not shown and had tried to work out what Data must have felt.

Harper had written one story in which Lessa found out more than she wanted to find out about what had happened between Data and the Queen. Lessa had been horrified! But Data had gotten angry with her. It was Harper's belief this experience would eventually lead Data to a realization. While he was not happy about the situation that led to this encounter or the person with whom it had taken place...the feelings were ones he would want to experience again. And if this could happen with someone like little Lessa, someone Data could love...it would be like nothing he had ever experienced before.

But Harper had been certain that the encounter with the Queen would scar Data. If Troi did not handle it right, he may never...or at least not for a long, long period of time, get past it. Data had to get past this in order to want to find someone. He needed to know that he was lovable. Not just as a friend, for certainly he knew that. Data had friends everywhere he went. In was almost impossible to be in the same room with this man and not fall in like with him after mere moments. Harper had witnessed it happen again and again. Even people who started with feelings of fear or mistrust for Data, liked him by the end of the episode. Everyone liked Data.

Now Harper needed to find someone to prove to him that he was lovable too. But she had to get him to the right point first. If only her character, Lessa were real! In Harper's imagination she could just see Lessa walk up to Data, smack him across the face and tell him to get over it. Then she would probably kiss him with a kiss so passionate it would knock his socks off.

But Harper was not Lessa.

Harper drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Data was staring at her. Waiting for her to explain her way out of this mess.

"Please sit down, Data. This may take a while."

"I will not grow tired by standing. You know that."

"Humor me, Data." He relented and sat. Harper took another deep breath and began to pace as she spoke. She explained about how her story writing had caused her to want to try to get into his head. To imagine how he had felt. Reenact in her head how he may have felt.

"When I write, I feel what the characters feel, Data. I was writing a part where Lessa was in the same room as Lore once." Data looked stunned at this. "Don't worry. Lore was confined and you confined him. He was taunting Lessa about you, but Lessa's a tough cookie and is not fun to be around when she cracks...like me...anyway, while I was writing this part where Lore was being especially pissy, my phone rang. It was Melody. I was still in Lore's mind-set and couldn't pull myself out that quickly. I was not very nice to her that day. Since then I warn people that if they call and I sound funny, to tell me they will call at a certain time later and I will try to not be writing an emotional part then."

"I do not see how this applies to our conversation," Data said flatly.

"Sometimes I can be longwinded. There was another part of that same story, earlier in, where Lessa finds out about what happened with the Queen. She does not react well. Neither do you. To write about it, I had to try to understand it. To watch it happening on the screen and envision what was not shown. That picture helped me to focus on it, Data. To focus on the moment. The events before and the recovery after. You were moments from your triumph in that picture, Data. The captain told you to leave, but you couldn't leave because only you could do what was planned and not die. If Picard hit that plasma coolant, he may not have broken it in one hit, he may have died too soon, or he may have not been able to make the attempt. But you could.

"The Queen believed you were taken. Won over to her cause. But she did not know the heart of the man at her side. And that gave you the very opportunity you needed. The Queen was so sure of herself that she became careless. She wanted to rub Picard's nose in winning you over from him. But you showed her she was wrong. Worf might have called it a glorious moment." Harper drew out the word 'glorious' as though Gowron were saying it. Data came to his feet and stood in her pacing path. She stopped and faced Data for the last part of this, but looked like she would begin again. His presence prevented any forward movement.

"It was not glorious! It was terrifying! The captain could have been killed! The Queen could have escaped!"

"Stop living in the 'what ifs', Data. You did everything right! You did what no one else could have done! What no one else could resist long enough to do!" Harper felt her own frustration with him rise, her temper flare.

"But I did not completely resist. The temptation-" Data guilt was written across is face.

"My God, Data! You know what happened? You were tempted, yes. She made an offer, promised you pleasure you had never known before and Data the android reacted...like a human. Just like a human. He was tempted to go with that desire and follow it to the end. He was human. You have been trying to be more human for most of your life. Did you really think that being human would entail all the good stuff and none of the bad? Did you think you could incorporate all of our strengths and none of our weaknesses? Do you really think for one moment there is any human that is on this planet right now that has not been tempted to do something selfish or wrong? We are all tempted, Data. Some of us even give in to that Never giving a second thought to the consequences of doing so. These people live just to find a new temptation to give in to. You find most of these people in jail at one time or another."

"Like the man who attacked you..." Data reminded her. Harper nodded slowly. She reached over and took his hand, giving it a squeeze.

"One of our strengths is learning from our mistakes. Yes, you were tempted, but should something tempt you again you will be wiser and stronger. Next time maybe you will only be tempted for 0.34 seconds." She grinned up at him. Suddenly she noticed a tear rolling down Data's face. Oddly Harper thought of Melody.

She had gotten through to him. Data was coming around. Whatever groundwork Troi had done had to be pretty good for Harper to have been able to get through to him so quickly. Or maybe Data was just ready to heal.

They really were quite a sad pair. Both so wounded, both in such desperate need of healing. Harper knew it was selfish and maybe this was giving in to temptation, but she still really needed to be held. She wanted a hug, just a good solid hug. Was that so wrong? She decided she was going to ask.

"Data," He was staring into her eyes, tears trickling down his cheeks. "I think we both need a hug. I know I need one. Do you?" He did not stop crying, but he did tilt his head to the side and consider the matter. After a moment he nodded. Harper sighed. She had really been worried he would say no. She moved a little closer and so did he. Their arms when around each other and Harper could not resist any longer. She squeezed him for all she was worth. And then just stood and soaked up the contentedness of being in a warm hug.

"I love hugs," Harper sighed.

"Why?" Data asked, sounding calmer and giving a small sniff.

"You don't like them?" she asked without moving. Her eyes were closed and she had a tranquil smile on her face.

"I did not say that." Sniff. "I simply wish to understand why you love them." He sniffed again. "I think I need a tissue."

Harper opened her eyes and looked at Data's tear-streaked face. "If we don't get better soon, I think we're gonna need to take out stock in the company that makes tissues to recoup our losses from buying it." She smiled compassionately at him and wiped his face with her sleeve. He just kept sniffing. She went to her room and came back with a hand full of tissue. She had to go back to her room for the garbage can as well; silly man didn't even have one in his room.

"You did not answer my question," Data reminded her. He was sitting on his bed and she was just coming back into his room.

"Hugs?" Harper asked, he nodded. She sat next to him, with her leg up on the bed, knee bent in so she could face him. "I like the warmth. The contact. I think I could be a hug junky," she admitted with a sheepish grin. "I don't think the people at my second job ever gave each other hugs until I started there. Now they almost all do. You didn't get anything out of it?" she asked. Data's expression changed. He glanced at her sideways.

"I think I did. I enjoyed it when you...tightened you hold on me. I experienced a rush of... feelings of comfort and acceptance. I have noticed that most of the hugs that I have received contained a tightening at some point. Why is that?" He tilted his head to the side it his endearing manner.

"I think a good hug needs to have a firm squeeze in there to...start the transfer of warmth. But you should not hug with your full strength, of course."

"No," he agreed quickly. "Question, 'transfer of warmth'?" Harper looked away and thought about this.

"Well, yeah. If you hug someone who is not feeling well, it's usually to...well send them your strength and warm feelings. Like connecting to another computer for a download of information except this is an emotional transfer instead." Data smiled at her. Harper wasn't sure if it was because he understood and she had over explained again, or because she had used an illustration she knew he would fully understand. She grinned back at him.

"Okay now I have a question. You said that you've received hugs, but that sounded like you don't give them. Do you?" He looked a little uncomfortable.

"I have never had a clear indication from someone else that they wanted one. A kiss, yes, but not just a hug. I did consider it yesterday evening when you asked me to hold you." Data looked helpless, but Harper remembered how she felt in that moment. She still felt some of those feeling now. She had really needed a hug then and the fact that she had not gotten one had allowed the emptiness to reign supreme over everything else last night. She had cried herself to sleep, but had been quiet so Data wouldn't be alerted. Harper looked away from him. She admonished herself and her tear ducts. Now was his moment.

"Did I err in my judgment, Harper?" Data asked. She looked up at him, confused. "Should I have given you a hug then?"

She tried to smile at him reassuringly, but just couldn't make it convincing.

"I see. Perhaps I am not nearly as human as you need me to be. I am sorry I was not...there for you."

She shook her head at him. "I don't deserve you being here at all. Don't think I don't appreciate your being here at all. Although you should not be-"

"We discussed this issue last night. I believe this is what is referred to as beating a dead horse. The imagery is quite unpleasant, but I do understand the pointlessness of the exercise. I am here. You are not the one who is responsible for my being here. Accept this," he implored her.

"In other words...get over it," she said. He did his head tilting for a second and then nodded. She grinned. "You have a disconcerting talent for cutting me to the quick, Data. I've always been one of those people who could get away with mur- um...more questionable behavior than most. I don't think I'm gonna get away with it any more with you around."

The day proceeded better, however as the evening approached, Harper seemed to fall into a pit of darkness that no amount of friendly teasing could coax her out of. Apparently, Data had only pushed her mourning out of her mind for a time. Data often experienced momentary discomfort when he turned his chip back on, even if the time when it had been off was brief. He tended to relive the 'off' moments again looking through emotional eyes. Sometimes the rush of emotions was quite disconcerting. The fact that Harper had pushed it back for five years caused Data to believe that she had infinitely more emotions to experience before she was going to be able to move on. Data could understand this, as it had been 34 years of emotional reliving for him.

When Harper went to her bedroom for her nightly bath, Data shuddered inwardly. Pulling out the leftover components from his communicator, he went to work on something to ease his mind. When Harper returned from her bath, over an hour later, Data had what he was sure she would call a new toy. He was standing at the end of the hall when she returned and held up the two pieces of the 'toy' to show her.

"Did it chirp?" Harper asked, since the distinctive outer casing from his communicator was in his left hand.

"No, but you can cause it to. I have borrowed components from the tricorder to make a...two way radio." He uses this term so she would understand.

"Why? We have phones. And as you and I are only out of touch when we're at work, I don't see the need." Her expression made it clear that she thought he was nuts, but he knew that.

"This could be used at any time, but I created it for one purpose. I have found that during your bath time each evening, I experience...anxiety," Data admitted. Harper's jaw dropped.

"You still think I'm gonna drown! I am corrupting you. You've developed an obsession. What am I supposed to do, press this if I'm falling? Not gonna work." She chided him.

Data looked surprised that Harper did not understand. "No, if you keep it activated I would be able to hear should your breathing cease and-"

"You are teasing, aren't you? Data, I'm not going to take that thing in there while I'm in the bath. It's a private activity...I'm naked in there...I'm...I don't think so." Harper pushed the proffered device back towards Data.

"There is no visual, it would only send audio. I could not hear the fact that you are unclothed," he noted, with a lifted eyebrow.

Harper sighed at him. "You don't need to hear me taking a bath. I have been taking baths for years and I have never drowned once. Robin never came in to find me submerged unless I was getting my hair wet." She lectured the android before her.

"Robin would come in while you were taking a bath?" Data asked, surprised.

"Don't get any ideas! Yes, he came in. He was my husband, you know!" She sounded shocked that Data would not assume that Robin would have come in while she was bathing.

"I am aware of his relationship to you. But you stated that it was a private activity. Why would he come in? Was it for another reason that had nothing to do with your presence? Was it a sexual activity?" The last, he asked with a worried expression.

"No, none of that. He came in to check on me or because he would think of something and didn't want to forget to tell me. We both had very bad memories." Harper's expression changed, she had a far away look in her eyes.

"He was checking on you. Then perhaps he was concerned, as I am. Perhaps he invaded your privacy because he wished to assure himself of your safety...as I now wish to." Harper rolled her eyes at Data, sighed heavily and poked him in the chest with her index finger.

"You're trying to manipulate me into this and having written about you doing just this, I can spot it! I am not letting you play 'listening Tom' while I'm in the bath! I have a bad habit of talking to myself when I'm in there and...I used to talk to myself all the time, but you've caused me to put a stop to most of that. I-" Data put up one finger to interject. "What?"

"Perhaps a compromise. You could activate the unit every five minutes to inform me of your condition."

"It would get wet," Harper argued.

"It is waterproof," Data assured her.

"I would forget, bad memory."

"I could signal you. I am sure you are familiar with the sound."

"Every twenty minutes," she countered.

"Fifteen," he countered.

"You know, even if I didn't answer and you knew something was wrong, the chances that you could revive me are really small after fifteen minutes."

"True, ten minutes."

"I had to open my big mouth, didn't I?" Harper sighed, snatched the communicator out of Data's hand and stomped back to her bedroom. When she returned Harper asked, "You're going to work all day tomorrow, aren't you? Good, so am I. I have to get out of this house before I succumb to the overwhelming desire to strangle you!"

Data gave her that, 'you are crazy' expression again. "That would be an ineffective defense against me," he informed her, trying not to smile.

"I know where your off switch is," she said tilting her head and looking innocently up at him.

"That would work." He looked very nervous now.

"Relax, you hardheaded man. I have no intention of putting that knowledge to the test. And no, the comment about you being hard-headed had nothing to do with what your head is made of and everything to do with your being a stubborn ache in the backside!"

Data grinned. There was something to be said for being a pain in the ass!

Harper was soaking in the tub. The water was so hot, it was making her sweat. It made her wish that she could find a way to sneak a glass of cold wine in here with her.

"He'd go into cascade failure or something if he saw that," Harper muttered to herself. The day back at work had been hectic with everyone asking what had happened to her. Not being able to tell anyone that Jayden had helped her was a pain since Harper kept forgetting and almost mentioned his name. She was glad the day was over. She closed her eyes and let her head sink into the water. Just as her ears had filled with the water, she heard the beep.

"Damn!" She sat up in the water and tapped the badge.

"No one here but us fish," she said, sinking back down into the water.

"You have fish in there? I have been in that room before...when-" came his voice.

"Kidding! I'm fine, Data. Bye." She tapped the badge again and ended any chance of a rebuttal. "He's gonna drive me crazy. All I want is one hour of peace and quiet, but no! Now I just get ten minute stretches. Maybe I should just drowned myself and really show him." She laughed to herself and the ridiculousness of that idea. Then something else occurred to her.

Ten minutes later...

Beep! Tap. "I'm fine, Data. What are you doing?"

"I am watching a television show about people entering metal cages and submerging the cages into ocean water to lure and study great white sharks. I cannot believe they would endanger themselves in this manner," came his confused sounding reply.

"Can't argue with you there, always thought they were insane to do that too. Have you seen-Whoops!" Thump! Gurgle, gurgle.

In the living room, Data leaped from the couch and raced to Harper's room. He opened the door to her bedroom and then the one to the bathroom in quick succession. Harper had her head resting on folder arms, leaning over the side of the tub. She was fine and she was grinning at him.

"Gotcha!" was all she said. Data's jaw dropped open. He was standing just inside the doorway to her master bathroom and was two and a half meters away from her. She had wrapped a towel around herself, but was still sitting in the tub full of water. Steamy moisture filled the room.

"A practical joke. Very clever. But I hope you recall the story of the boy who cried wolf," Data said, recovering the instant he realized that Harper was in no danger.

"I do. I have no plans for doing this again. I just had to get you, Data. You've been asking for it, you know. Didn't you have a roommate in the academy?"

"Briefly. He requested a reassignment and I was allowed to room alone from then on."

"And you don't remember living with you parents...or do you?" Harper did not move, she just stared at him.

"I do not remember, precisely. Images were stored on my emotion chip, but they were downloaded hurriedly from the computer on Omicron Theta and there are many...omissions. The information bares less resemblance to a memory than the logs from the colonist that were stored in me."

"So, do you remember living with them at all?" Harper asked, tilting her head to the side. Her wet hair was dripping water over the edge of the tub and onto the rug below.

"Not in the sense that I consider it a memory. I was very confused most of the time and had a great deal of trouble in my journey to sentience. One could say they are unpleasant....images."

"So, you've really never lived with anyone before."

"Spot...but she would not like to bathe the way that you do," he noted. Harper laughed.

"And I wouldn't like her method either. Okay you can see that I am fine, so please let me finish my bath in peace and quiet. Please." She sounded as though she were almost begging.

"Now that you have saturated your towel, how will you dry yourself?" Data asked, sidestepping her plea. Her expression told him that she had not thought of that.

"I guess I was hoping that the kind and forgiving android I live with would fetch me a new one?" she said, hopefully. Data acted like he was searching the room and the bedroom behind him for something.

"You live with another android? Is he bigger than I am? Please let me know if he decided to fetch you that fresh towel." In his mock search of the rooms he had noticed one thing she had not, her towel was floating.

"Data!" Harper cried, indignantly, reacting to his apparent refusal to bring her a new towel.

Turning back to face her before he left the room, Data grinned brightly. "Gotcha! Oh, and by the way....nice ass!"

Harper looked quickly behind her and pushed the towel back down, but it was too late...She could hear Data laugh all the way down the hall.

Harper raced into the living room twenty minutes later, looking drenched. Standing in front of and over Data as he sat on the couch, she shook out her very wet hair. Data threw up his arms in a halfhearted attempt to shield himself from the downpour, but he was not very successful. He was laughing again. Harper was laughing too, but she did not seem to have any intention of ceasing her watery attack. Data had to admit, practical jokes were much funnier with his chip. He had not understood, nor enjoyed them without emotions. And he had been the target of more than his share in the academy.

Harper was getting his shirt wet and his pants as well. She pulled her locks together and looked as though she intended to wring the water out on his lap! Data grabbed her arms and pulled her playfully down to fall on her back, next to him on the couch. He laughed as she bounced and looked back at him, shocked at his sudden offensive action. Data stretched out to lean directly over her and grinned triumphantly down at her. She looked like she was planning her next attack.

"I have read about many more practical jokes than you can think of, Harper. I warn you, you will be outmatched in this area." Data held her arms and was leaning over her, but she was now grinning up at him.

"In what area would I not be outmatched by you, Data? Just because I'm gonna lose doesn't mean I would not still try it. I lost, but the look on your face when you burst into my bathroom was priceless. I wish I had a camera at that moment!" She smirked up at him. He laughed since she was right. He could see himself in her bathroom mirror and thinking about now, it was funny.

"You nightgown is sticking to your body. You look very...unkempt," Data teased, still laughing. He had released her arms and she was moving them up between them.

"This coming from Mr. Fashion plate." Harper reached up and to his utter shock, unbuttoned the collar button of the blue dress shirt he was wearing. When they had gotten home, Data had changed out of his suit and tie, but had left on the shirt and switched his suit pants for a pair of khakis. He stared at her, unmoving, as she finished with the first button and moved on to the next one...and then the third! Was she planning on undressing him? Was she trying to initiate sexual contact? Just as Data was going to ask her what her intentions were, Harper spoke.

"You know, no man ever wears his shirt all buttoned up like that unless he has a tie on. You took your tie off-hours ago. Umm, three may be too many. Oh, look...chest hair! Nice touch! Almost hate to cover that back up. There! Much better." She finished her task and patted his chest to indicate she was done. She smiled up at his stunned reaction.

"You're not blinking, Data. Are you feeling all right?" she asked innocently. "Let me up, I need to get cleaned up so I don't look so...unkempt," Harper said now pushing on his chest. He let her up and she instantly disappeared down the hall.

Lying in his bed hours later, Data replayed this incident in his mind and came to a startling conclusion. The reason that he had momentarily believed that Harper was intending to undress him was because he had suddenly wanted her to do just that. He had wanted to press his lips to hers and taste her mouth.

It was happening again...Data was tempted.

But was it so wrong this time? He was still not sure about the last time, so how could he be sure here? He needed to know if Harper had any real feelings for him. Not the character, not the actor, not the dream of him. But the real android that she had only known for just over a month. Was the dream intriguing, but the reality appalling, or just not so interesting? Had there been something buried in her eyes tonight? Could he bring it to the surface?

Data recalled the first fan fiction story Harper had shown him. The physical reaction. Data knew there would be a risk involved in this, but decided to implement her suggestion. With only a remote sense of hesitation, Data began rewriting and rerouting subroutines.

Harper rolled over on her side and clutched one of her pillows to her chest. She was sleeping happily, but a sudden noise caused her to sit bold upright in her bed. In the dark, she could see the outline of a man in her bedroom doorway. His hand still clutched the knob.

"Harper," he whispered.

She let out a breath of relief, it was just Data. He moved into her room. "What is it, Data? Did you have a nightmare or something?" she asked, yawning. He came over to the side of the bed and sat next to her.

"No, it was not a nightmare. I dreamt of you, Harper," he told her. She could see that he was in his pajamas, or rather, his pajama pants. His chest was bare.

God but was he sexy!

He moved further onto her bed, simultaneously pulling the blankets that covered her from her grasp. One hand slid up her leg to her thigh as she gasped. Data balanced on the other arm to look into her eyes.

"Tell me that you wish this as much as I," he breathed.

She could barely manage a weak, "Yes," before his mouth came crushing down on hers.

Harper had no resistance to him. She threw her arms around Data and greedily accepted his onslaught. He rolled her over on top of him and knocked one of her many pillows on the floor in the process...the sound of it hitting a lamp woke her up.

Harper sat bolt upright and looked to see that a pillow had indeed fallen. It must have been what had awakened her.

"Damn! Just when it was getting good," she groaned, crestfallen. Harper collapsed back on her pillow with a dejected sigh.

"Harper," Data called from behind her door.

Oh, my God! Am I still dreaming?

"Yes, Data."

"Are you all right?" he called, sounding very worried.

"Come in, Data. I don't want to yell through the door."

He obeyed her command and came in. He was not only in his full pajamas, but was also wrapped securely in his robe. Damn, that meant she was awake, and Data wasn't going to try a thing. He had been so shocked last night when Harper had unbuttoned his shirt. The poor boy had also looked like he wanted to button it back. His hand had kept reaching for the buttons throughout the rest of the evening. He would take notice of her grinning at his discomfort and would quickly lower his hand. He just couldn't wrap his programming around it, and Harper had found it great fun.

"Are you all right?" Data repeated, coming into the room.

"I'm fine. Why?" She didn't think the sound of a pillow falling could have alerted him too. The pillow hadn't knocked anything over...

"You were calling me. Were you dreaming?" he asked. He was close enough for her to note his buttons on his pajamas were all buttoned...and he smelled good. Ah, well...one out of two...

"I guess I was dreaming. What did I say?" she hoped nothing suggestive.

"You called my name three times. That is all I heard. You did not sound upset, but you were calling." He sounded concerned that she would think ill of him for coming in to her room in the middle of the night.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"2:36 and twelve seconds. Are you feverish? Are you upset with me? Are you angry regarding the incidents that took place last night? Were you having a nightmare?"

Feverish...yes...nightmare...no!

"No, sweetie, I'm not upset. I enjoyed kidding around with you as much as you seemed to. You were enjoying it, weren't you, Data?" He came to sit on the side of her bed and smiled gently.

"Yes. It is an area of humor that I have some experience with, though certain elements are different." She wished he were just a little closer.

"What elements?" she asked.

He rose from the bed; suddenly he seemed to throw up a wall between them.

"I was not cohabiting with the previous person." He walked back to the door. "I will have your coffee ready for you in the morning, Harper. Good night."

That was odd, Harper thought, as she told him goodnight as well. Data closed the door and she could hear his own door close a second later. She had pushed him too far, Harper decided. She had made him too uncomfortable. She wanted to shake Data up a bit, but she didn't want to scare the hell out of him.

Harper's obsession with Data had mutated. His pushing her to deal with the fact that Robin was dead had shattered it, but it had reformed almost instantly...into something new. She had tried to ignore the growing feelings, but her obsession with the dream had left her with no resistance for the reality. But even if nothing happened between them, she hoped that she could help him to want something with someone. She wanted him happy.

No, more than that, Harper wanted Data to be in love. Positron blowing, sub-routine exploding optical sensory overloading love! Wouldn't that be wonderful to see? She grinned at the thought of Data with a dreamy lovesick expression on his sweet face. She giggled, quietly. That would be fun, then his friends would not think bad of Harper if she sent him back to them ready to build the same kind of relationship with someone once Q let Data go home again. Harper picked the pillow up from the floor and wrapped her arms around it. With images of a happy Data danced in her head, sleep finally reclaimed her.

Harper stood before her bathroom mirror, applying the makeup she had decided to wear this morning. It was going to be an interesting day, one filled with anticipation. Data had finally gotten his first check yesterday and they had their big dinner tonight. Since they would be going out after work, Harper had to get ready now.

Harper put on some perfume just for the hell of it. Her dress was formfitting, but her form was not that bad. She wished she could lose a few pounds, but working out in skimpy exercise clothes with Data here was not happening! Robin had always made wise cracks at her and had been retaliated against, but if she bent over and Data came out with a 'nice ass!' and she would not be able to ever put those work out clothes on again.

Since her first practical joke, Data had kept up the teasing and she loved it! Data had gotten nervous a couple of times when he seemed to think it had gone too far, but he was recovering quicker each time and Harper was trying hard not to cause him to become uncomfortable.

She dabbed at her lipstick, ran the brush through her hair again and left the room. Data was coming to hurry her and met her in the hall. He noticed her attire and seemed confused.

"I was coming to get you. We will be late if you are not ready." Harper pretended to straighten his tie. It was perfect, of course, but it was ritual now and she liked it. It made her feel...wifely. Data looked down, as he always did. "Are we ready?"

"I think we are as beautiful as we're likely to get, so yes, we're ready."

In the van, Data kept glancing at her, but said nothing. Finally he glanced over to see Harper staring pointedly back it him and grinning.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Jayden Lee Soong?" she asked, sweetly.

"No, I was just wondering about your choice of apparel this morning. It differs from your traditional selection. Is there a reason for that?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Our dinner this evening...I know you didn't forget."

"No, I reserved our table at the restaurant last week. Then you are saying that you made your choice of attire this morning based on our expected activities this evening?"

"We're not eating at a mud wrestling place, are we?" Harper asked, wondering why he seemed confused. Data shook his head.

"No, you are aware of my aversion to being unclean. I would not wish to soil my suit, nor your dress. It is a...flattering dress." He seemed reluctant to say that.

"Thank you, Mr. Soong. It must be very flattering for you to comment on it," she teased.

"What do you mean?" Data asked, wondering if he had just been insulted.

"Let's just say you're not free and easy with a compliment. Actually, I think that's the first one...first real one you've ever given me." Harper tried to think of any other. Nothing serious and about her appearance came to mind.

"At the risk of setting myself up for teasing, may I inquire as to the reason behind your choosing to apply makeup today as well?"

"Dinner," she answered simply.

"And the perfume?"

"I was doing the rest, I figured...what the hell...why not perfume too. Why, not to your taste?" she asked, worried.

"I would not say that." Data was avoiding her eyes, now.

"What would you say? If you don't like it or you think it's awful, I can wash it off before tonight." Harper sounded concerned.

"No, it is pleasing. You both look and...smell aesthetically pleasing, Harper. I meant no offense." Data was strangely quiet after this. Harper was not sure what his problem was, but hoped he got over it before dinner. He pulled up in front of her office and she leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek. She didn't do this normally, but she hoped it would shock him out of his sudden funk.

Harper forgot she had lipstick on, leaving a pink lip print on Data's cheek.

"Oh, sorry! Forgot I had that on." She grabbed a tissue and handed it to him. "Think I'll dash away while you're busy cleaning up your cheek. Try to be in a better mood tonight, Son of Soong." With a pat to his leg, Harper hopped out of the car and headed into work.

Data sighed and looked in the mirror to see the mark she had left on him. He stared briefly at the imperfect impression of her lips in a soft shade of rose on his right cheek. Had he known that she was planning to kiss him, he could have timed it to turn his face towards her at just the right moment and had reciprocated her kiss. Data felt a twinge of his ethical program. He unenthusiastically removed the lipstick from his face and drove to his own office.

Harper had been fixated on Data to hide from her grief. She has resisted, but Data believed that she had almost recovered from both this and the trauma of her attack. The court date was next month for the man's trial, but Data had requested the time off to be with her. Once his boss knew of the reason behind Jayden's request, he quickly approved.

Data too was still healing from his ordeal at the hands of the Borg Queen, but even though Harper was not a counselor, she was determined to get him over his uncertainties. As he entered the elevator that would take him to the third floor, Data smiled. Harper was indeed nothing like Counselor Troi and neither were her methods, but she was quite convincing. As Data was Harper's only patient, she could give him her undivided attention...when she was not working.

That was another thing that he hoped he could address soon. Data believed Harper worked too much. His adding to their finances should help and he intended to encourage her to quit one of her jobs. He had talked her into letting him take over the bill paying just last week. Since he needed a checking account, he had asked her if they could have a joint account stating all the logical reasons behind his reasoning. She had resisted at first, but had come around to his way of thinking and finally relented. When he had checked their account balance this morning, it looked much nicer.

He was looking forward to dinner tonight. Data thought again of Harper's appearance and how she now worn perfume for the first time since he had met her. She always smelled clean and...of roses. He had discovered that it was her conditioner that caused her to smell of roses. He had come to associate the scent with her and had even enjoyed a secret smile when they had done their shopping last week and she had bought more.

He remembered when he had been on the planet Angel I with Riker, Troi and Tasha. The bottles of perfume were everywhere. Data had commented on this and Riker had tried to explain. Data now wondered if Harper was using the perfume like the men had there, but did she want to use it on her housemate?

Lunchtime rolled around quickly, or so it seemed. Harper's head was in the clouds so it took a tap on the shoulder from Ann to wake her from her fog.

"You coming? Or is your boyfriend, I mean housemate coming for you today?" Ann asked with a disbelieving smile. Just like Harper had assumed, no one believed for a moment that there was nothing going on between her and Jayden, the blue eyed hunk.

"Jayden's not coming today. And yes, I'm coming." Harper followed her friend to the lunchroom and retrieved her sandwich from the fridge. Data had requested that they stop buying ham and cheese, so she was stuck with turkey. He likes turkey...figures!

Harper sat down with Ann, Meagan, and Janet. All were married except for Harper, so her relationship with Jayden was often a hot topic, despite her attempts to change the subject.

"How's Melody, Harper? She coming back for Thanksgiving?" asked Janet.

"Yes, I talked with her last week and she's going to stay the week with me in November, but for Christmas break she's going to spend the time with her new boyfriend."

"Oh, like mother like daughter. What does she think about you and lover boy?" Harper rolled her eyes at Janet.

"I haven't told her about Jayden's staying with me. Since I can't seem to explain it to any of you, I fail to see how I'm going to properly convey it to her." Gosh that sounded like Data, she thought. Except for the contractions. Counter data corruption? "I intend to send him to the store for milk or something before Mel arrives so I can explain it to her."

"You really expect us to accept your word that he's just rooming with you and there's no hanky panky? You know too many dirty jokes for us to believe that you're frigid, Harp. Is he? Is he gay?" Meagan asked putting a hand to her face a gasping.

"Aren't we the gossipmonger? No, I don't think he's gay and as far as frigid goes, I would not know. He is staying with me to get on his feet after a terrible break up. He's a good man and I couldn't abandon him."

"How good?" asked Ann, and then burst into laughter. The other's followed. Harper found she was blushing. "See, you have thought about it. I've seen you, we all have. He walks in here and your face lights up. Is he that unapproachable? He likes you, find out how much!"

"Hell, if it were me," confided Janet, "I'd have definitely found out if he wears boxers or briefs by now." More giggles around the table.

"I already know that." Harper stated flatly. They all gasped. "We only have one washer and dryer. I went down to the laundry room once while he was doing the wash. He wears boxers. He says they don't show when he wears his suits." She laughed. "Ruined it, didn't I?" they all nodded, disappointed.

"Jump him, Harp. It would do you some good. Who knows, maybe it would do him some good too. I never knew a man to say no...unless football was on." Janet winked at her.

"Sex for the sake of sex?" Harper asked.

"No," said Janet. "Sex for the sheer joy of it."


	8. Chapter 8 Stuck In A Forbidden Groove

Chapter Eight – Stuck in a Forbidden Groove

Jayden Soong put a hand on Harper Talenger's shoulder and watched her jump a mile.

"Gotcha!" came his voice from just behind her. She reached over her shoulder and put her hand over his face, pushed him back away from her shoulder. Turning around in her swivel chair, Harper faced him. She crossed her long legs. The black hose she wore accentuated the curves of her calves.

"Well, if it isn't the golden boy himself," Harper teased, catching her breath from being scared out of her wits. She had her other hand on her chest and was still breathing hard. Her cheeks were flushed, but her eyes sparkled.

Data thought she was a vision.

He grinned. "Golden boy?" he repeated, looking towards the door to her office. On his way in, Data had seen four people in evidence even though it was 5:09. "Next you are going to tell me you find something about me to be artificial or-"

"How I've met robots that were warmer than you?" she finished, taking it away from him.

"Have you?" Data asked, uncertain.

"No," Harper answered, he sighed. Leaning forward in her chair she whispered to him, "I try to not have more than one robot around at a time," she teased, knowing this would get him.

"I...am...not a robot," Data stammered.

She grinned up at him. "Tripped over that one a bit, hon. But I assure you, of that, I have no doubt." Harper turned off her computer at her desk and locked up her office as Data waited and then trailed behind.

As they made their way to the van, she asked Data where they were going for dinner.

"I hope you like fondue, because it sounds intriguing to me," Data told her.

And it was. The meal was wonderful and the service exemplary. The wine was good too and Data made sure that Harper's glass was never empty. He wanted to be sure she enjoyed herself. Harper was very funny when she drank, but she was also relaxed.

Data decided Harper would be in the correct frame of mind for what he wanted to discuss. Data told her how he had been looking into the stock market and wanted her approval to set aside a small allotment of their funds from his next check, to invest.

"Is that not against some temporal interference law or something?" Harper asked in a whisper. They sat in a circular booth that could have accommodated four more people, but they sat in the middle of the bench, together.

"I do not know of any directive that would caution me against properly supporting my housemate," Data told her with a gentle smile. He could see she was getting very woozy.

"How much wine did you slip me, you sneaky bastard?" Harper asked poking him in the side.

"Apparently, enough," Data teased.

"I will still remember everything that happens. I may say something stupid, but I'll remember saying it tomorrow so don't think you can take advantage of me and I won't remember. Besides, I would want to remember."

Data was stunned to hear her say this. He felt his whole body freeze over and then thaw. It was an odd sensation for someone who could not be cold or hot.

"You would?" he asked weakly, looking her straight in the eyes. It almost seemed as though she had been drinking synthehol and was throwing off the affects. Harper looked Data back in the eyes and a smile curved her lips.

"Of course I would."

Data could not resist the temptation any longer; he leaned over and kissed her. The wine on her lips tasted sweet, but the kiss was far sweeter. He wrapped his arms around her as Harper leaned into him, caressing his cheek. He found her tongue and courted it with his own. Data's left hand moved to the back of her head. He ran his long fingers through her dark silky waves. She never did much of anything to her hair. She didn't have to.

Data felt Harper's other hand move from his side, up his chest. He had removed his jacket and tie in the car, and unbuttoned his shirt so she would not tease him. Now her fingers found the opening and found skin. Desire floored Data with that touch. In that moment he remembered the decision he had made, designed to determine her feelings on this matter without having to ask. But she was not close enough to know what was happening to him.

Data felt an overwhelming sense of defeat. They were sitting in a booth of a restaurant, forty-five minutes from home and a bed. He did not want to make love to Harper in the car.

But he wanted to make love to her.

Badly!

Yes, there was a downside to programming this response to be automatic. Data could not just grab Harper's hand and rush her out of the restaurant without at least fifty people knowing that he was...in the mood.

Sighing heavily, he kissed Harper one last time and caressed her soft cheek.

"We need to go home, Harper, but it would seem we have to stay."

She looked confused and displeased by this announcement. "Explain that." She was looking him in the face and he did not wish to just look down, so he took her hand and touched it to the prominent bulge in the front of his slacks. "Oh, my," she gasped, but did not look down. Data was thankful for small miracles. "You...changed it over?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Can you change it back so we can leave?" she asked, hopefully.

"It took thirty four minutes to activate the program that would allow this to happen, should the situation warrant. It would take less time to allow it to...subside."

"Then I guess we should order dessert... and stop...kissing." Data did not want to agree...about the kissing part...but he had to agree. Still, he pulled Harper close and kissed her just once more before the waiter returned.

Data was beginning to think the reaction would never subside, when it finally did. He paid the bill, hid the receipt from Harper and ushered her from the establishment. He walked her over to his side of the van and opened his door.

"Normally I would open your door for you, but I wish to kiss you again and I think we know what will happen if I do. I think I will need to get into the van after that. I hope you are not offended."

Harper giggled. She was still very much under the influence of the wine. But she had assured Data that she knew what she was doing and wanted to kiss him. Those words washed over him like a tide. Data crushed her body against his. Kissing her with a passion that surprised even him. Harper seemed almost aggressive as she returned his kiss, her own desire adding to the fire between them.

His erection returned.

So did her giggles.

"I think we need to go home. My knees are weak," she told him. Data still did not want to release her. But she was right and he could not take the chance that someone would see them if he made love to her in the back of the van. One more penetrating kiss and she pulled away, precarious in her balance.

"You could hang a week's worth of laundry from that thing, you know. You going to be able to get in the car like that?" Harper asked staring pointedly at the bulge in his pants.

"I will be just fine. You are exaggerating about the laundry and it would be unseemly to test your theory." Data lectured. Harper was still laughing when she finally made it to her side of the car.

He drove the speed limit, but was tempted not to. There it was again...temptation! Still this one was easy to resist. Data did not wish to risk injuring Harper or himself. No one to fix him here...

They were twenty minutes from home when Harper fell asleep.

The overwhelming feeling of defeat washed over Data again.

Harper was snoring softly when they arrived home and Data laughed at his hopes being foiled again. He carried her into the house and took her to her bed. Her shoes were the only things he removed before covering her with her blankets and kissing her good night.

"I want you, but I will wait. Remember my kiss, Harper. Tell me tomorrow that you wanted my kiss. Tell me you want me too."

Harper rolled over at three in the morning and wandered to her bathroom in the dark. She wondered why she still had her dress on. I only remembered...let's see...I remember...oh, my God! Data kissed me! And kissed me again! The sensation of those kisses came rushing back to her.

"I always knew he'd be a curl your toes kind of kisser!" she muttered. Harper wondered where he was. She only remembered the car ride and that was it.

Had they? Had she? Had he?

Coming back into her bedroom she saw the other side of the bed was still made and empty. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. Harper really wasn't sure she was ready to be his lover. Or that Data was ready to be hers.

She pulled off her clothes and threw on a nightgown. Climbing back into bed, she wondered what the morning would bring.

Harper woke up early...or rather had trouble sleeping since she became convinced to a greater degree as the night passed that she was not going to get up and kiss Data good morning. If she succumbed to this desire when they were both still so fragile in healing, Harper knew she would fracture beyond repair if he left. They still had no idea how long Q intended for Data to remain in her time. He could appear as soon as Harper allowed Data into her bed for the first time. Maybe in a little while she could take that, but now...it would kill her.

It felt like Robin was ripped from her arms yesterday. Having Data torn from her today would not be bearable.

Harper ambled into the kitchen once she heard indication of Data moving around in the other room. She padded across the floor and headed to the coffeepot.

"You are up early. I have not yet made your coffee." Data said in a surprised, but quiet voice once he noticed her. He was making turkey sandwiches. She nodded and pulled the coffee tin from the cabinet above. Data continued with his task, but he kept looking over at her. The expression on his sweet face reminded her of the one that had been there when Tasha had walked over and told him that it never happened.

Great! I always hated her for doing that and now here I am, about to do the same thing!

"Harper," Data was standing next to her, staring expectantly at her. He was going to ask! He opened his mouth to speak, but she put her finger over his lips and shook her head.

"Coffee first," she grumbles. "Not even human yet...let me wake up." He sighed, but swallowed his questions and pleas.

"Are you suffering from residual effects from the wine...last night?" he asked. He was thinking about last night. Replaying every moment in his head. She could see it in his sunshine coloured eyes. There was doubt and fright there too. There would be more soon...

"No, only get that if I drink mixed drinks." Harper grabbed a cup from the cupboard and added sugar and milk. She warmed the milk in the microwave and walked back to wait for the coffee to get high enough to fill her cup. She drank three sips and then turned to Data.

"Sit, Data," she commanded in a tone nowhere near commanding. His features clouded over, but he sat. He knew what was coming. He had heard it before...or so he thought.

"You remember it?" he asked, just to get the ball rolling.

"I told you that I would. I'm sure it's a bit fuzzy compared to your recollection, but I think it's all there. I fell asleep in the car, right?" He nodded, expressionless.

"Do you wish that you could not remember it?" he asked. Harper was only mildly surprised that he sounded a touch provoked.

"No, Data. I want to remember it. I may as well say it, since you know it's coming. It did happen, but it can't happen again." She tried to emphasize the 'it happened' part, but it didn't seem to help much. He was still angry. He slapped the table so hard that it seemed the house shook. He pushed back from the table and was on his feet, staring down at her.

"Why! Was my kiss so revolting? Did I taste too metallic for you?" Data was shouting.

"No, and if you're going to give me that tired old 'I'm just an android' line I'll scream. I have two reasons and you may argue with the first, but... You and I are still healing from our last...relationships. You know you wouldn't be so upset if you were not still hurting and healing. You've got thick skin, Data, but it doesn't help you here. Right now you're as fragile as I am, and I can't take this right now." He straightened and walked away from her.

"Perhaps it would help us to heal," he offered, looking back at Harper.

"And perhaps it wouldn't. I can't speak for you, Data, but I know that if we pursued it now and then discovered that this was rebound or just not what we wanted, I would break. Believe me, you don't want to see what would happen..." She looked at her feet.

"What if you are wrong? What if this is just what we need?" He was pleading, but she just shook her head. He turned back around and pounded on the door to the pantry. He was holding back quite a bit; the door only cracked slightly.

"Why can I not fall, just once, and have it simple and uncomplicated. Not a virus induced encounter, not an emotionless one, and not...a seduction intended to manipulate me." Data turned and stared at Harper with haunted eyes. "I thought we could have this. Just two beings who could care and...touch each other..."

"Until Q appears and takes you home, Data?" Harper finished for him. He recoiled. "That's the one thing I can't forget. I know that you're not fully vested here. Your life is waiting for you in the future, timelines away. And I can't go there with you! And you would not want me if I could. I had one man ripped from me, do you really believe that I could survive the sudden loss of another?" Harper stood up and went to him. She took his hands in her own, and looked into his troubled eyes. "You know that you really aren't ready either. You still can't talk about the Queen without a pause. Tasha and Jenna...yes, her, no. I'm in the same boat, sweet boy. We are moving towards the shore, Data, but we aren't there yet. Give it time. This is not a 'no', just a 'not now'. Can you accept that?"

He did not know what to say, so he just ran a finger across the curve of her jaw line. He wanted to kiss her so desperately. Just this closeness and he could feel a physical response threatening. Perhaps just a hug... She came to him willingly. He closed his eyes and forced himself to admit that Harper was right, despite how little he wanted to.

How was it that in diagnostic problems with the most sophisticated pieces of equipment known to science in his time, Data was never wrong in his assessments, but in emotional matters he was wrong more often than not?

There was so little logic involved in emotion.

Harper pulled back to look at his face. She was looking for a clue as to his mood; Data could see it in her eyes. He sighed.

"So, I guess the suggestion for us to stay home and make love all day would be shot down?" Data asked, trying to be pathetically humorous. She grinned and gave his middle a squeeze.

"Sit and watch the whole movie 'First Contact' without flinching and we'll talk." She tilted her head to the side as he sighed in frustration at her. "Maybe this is a sucky time to tell you, but are you aware that a new movie is due out in December?" Harper considered moving out of Data's arms, but decided to stay until after she got all the bad news out.

"Well, let me see, I receive my chip and had an emotional break down in the first movie. I was...raped, sort of...in the second, you still have not let me see the third, but told me that I am damaged and shoot at everyone. What do they do to me in this one? Kill me?" He sounded miffed, but he was joking. Harper's eyes got wide.

"Well..." She released him and gave him room to explode.

"You have to be kidding. He kills me?" Data's voice got high in shock. "If I get to meet Spiner, I think I would indeed want to tell him how to play me better. Imploring him not to kill me would be my first suggestion." Data was deep in thought, no doubt planning a trip to see Spiner and wondering if the events portrayed in the new movie would cross over into his timeline.

"At this point it's just rumor. There are also rumors the captain dies. There is also one that suggests that it's not you that dies, but another android." Harper was trying to calm him, but doubted this would be successful.

"Lore?"

"No, another one. The details are sketchy. I've been avoiding finding out too much so I wouldn't get depressed," Harper explained with a shrug.

"YOU!" Data exclaimed. "How do I die?" He was very unhappy...to say the least.

"I don't know. I really don't and I don't think you should try to find out. We can see the movie when it comes out if you want to, but you have to promise not to rip any chairs out in the theater." Harper waved a finger at him. He arched an eyebrow at her. "Don't look at me like that. I know you want to. You are mad. Very mad." Without looking in that direction, she pointed at the crack in the door to the pantry.

"Oops," he said, wide-eyed.

"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty for being mad and having the strength to do more damage than others. Just try to pick something easily replaceable or something we can do without, okay? Make you a deal...next time I have to tell you something that's gonna piss you off, I'll hand you something to break and duck." She grinned at him and he found himself feeling better.

How did she do that?

Maybe it was easier to be unbalanced with someone who was also teetering on the edge herself.

"I will not hurt you." Data wanted to make sure she knew this.

"I know that your ethical program views me differently than the door. I wasn't too worried. I'm not stupid, but I have faith that you're gonna try not to hurt me on purpose." He saw her eyes move to the clock. "Time has chosen not to stop for us, this morning. It has a very annoying habit of moving on. I have to take a shower since I missed my bath last night. The name of the movie is 'Nemesis'. If you find out conclusively that the Data in this universe dies, please don't tell me, okay?" He raised an eyebrow at her. She knew what he was planning...well, it was not a great leap.

"It would bother you to hear of that Data's death?" he asked, knowing the answer. Harper turned back and gave him a knowing smile.

"I don't want to think about any of you dying. And I forbid you to, got it? Temporal Integrity Commission be damned, anything you can find out that would prevent your death would be a good idea."

"Temporal Integrity Commission?" Data asked, confused.

"You really need to watch more Voyager..."

Thanksgiving was quickly approaching. While this meant the release of 'Nemesis' was coming up fast, it also meant that Melody's vacation was coming up even faster. Harper had still not told her daughter about the man living with her. She also worried about Data, as the closer they came to the movie's release, the moodier Data became. Perhaps it did not matter if it were Data or the other android who died in the movie. Either would upset him. If truth be told, Harper didn't even like the thought of Lore being shot and taken apart. Still she did not live with Lore, she lived with Data and he was very sullen today.

Mel was to arrive in three days and Harper was sitting in front of the TV watching 'Pretty Woman', her favorite old movie. She had knitting needles in her hands and a blanket of yellow and blue was two rows closer to completion. Data was at the computer, paying the bills.

"If you had just told her I was your lover, would she have let me stay with you?" Data asked, from the desk. He was still miffed that Harper had gone to her sister's for the weekend and left him home alone. Her sister, Brinna, was seven months pregnant with her first baby, a boy, and Harper had gone to Alabama for the shower and the weekend. Data had not been pleased.

"In the same room? I don't think so, sweet boy. Considering Brin had a ten year affair with her husband before they got married, I don't think she would have a leg to stand on if she tried to judge me for having a live in lover...if that was what you were." Harper looked over her shoulder at Data to verify that he looked irritated by this. He did.

"I still want to be your lover," he snipped. Harper snorted at the disparity between Data's tone and his words. She got his attention and pointed meaningfully at the movie standing on the TV cabinet.

'First Contact' now had an honored...or dishonored place there. It waited for Data to pick it up and watch it, beginning to end. He had tried once. But the part where he had been grabbed and pulled under the closing door had been as far as he could get. Harper knew Data remembered these events just fine, but watching them from the outside had an odd affect on him.

He didn't like it.

"I am working on it. I have decided that I may try again after the New Year comes." He sounded a little calmer.

"After 'Nemesis' you mean," she corrected. He nodded reluctantly. "I guess you figure that if you can handle seeing yourself die, you can handle anything."

"I suppose...except rejection..." Data muttered. Harper turned completely around in her chair and glared at him.

"I did not reject you, now stop moping." She waved her finger at him. She had been doing that a lot of late. But he had been moping a lot.

"Does it bother you to think that you live with an android who wants to be intimate with you?" he asked, knowing he was setting himself up.

"I have passionately kissed said android, you know," she reminded him.

"I have seen you kiss the computer too. We are both machines. How would you feel if your computer wanted to be your lover?" He was getting pissy again, she noted.

"We talked about it actually...the computer turned me down claiming that I was not his type. He wanted to just be friends. I agreed to his terms. You know my terms, sweet boy." She got out of her chair and came to stand behind him.

"I have noticed that when we have discussions like this, you tend to increase the frequency in your referring to me by that term of endearment." Data said this looking over his head at her. Harper was glancing at the computer screen and taking note of their current bill situation.

"That's because I can remember back to when you were less grouchy and were a sweet boy. I keep hoping if I remind you enough you will be again." She leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck. She snuggled up to his cheek and he sighed. He both liked and hated it when she did this. She did not do any sexual flirting or kiss him, but she was, as always, affectionate to him. How was he going to cope with having her daughter here and watching his every move?

Data was grouchy. Harper was right, as always, and he was moping as well. Harper's and his relationship was part of it, but the new movie was also bothering him. Data had promised not to tell her about it but...

"If I...the character of Data dies in this timeline, how do I treat that knowledge if Q sends me back to mine?" Data asked Harper, thinking out loud.

"We don't know that you will in your timeline. We have found discrepancies."

"Harper, the fact that your time has progressed by 'two movies' and that I have hair on...my arms is not overwhelming evidence." There were more discrepancies, but they were all just as insignificant.

"You, I assume, will remember all of what happened here, since Picard did when Q bounced him through time."

"Yes, and he told us all about it."

"Thus turning the timeline. You can do the same thing. Use the knowledge you take back and tell everyone what you think they need to know. But...what will you do if the movie shows that it is not you that dies?" She asked.

"You are asking if I will try to save him, too. I will."

"What if the death of one of you is unavoidable, or the situation requires one of you to sacrifice yourself? Granted I know almost nothing about him or even how long he has been alive...like that makes a difference, but we have seen 'Data' telling him that he must be deactivated as he is dangerous in the film previews. I don't want anyone of your kind to die since there are so very few of you and I am rather against genocide. I just think you have to face the possibility there may be a damn good reason that...one of you has to face the ultimate challenge. I think you know who I'm pulling for..."

Data pulled her arms from his neck and stood to look at her. "I do not wish to be destroyed. But I will not send him to his death if my death will save him."

"Then you most likely will condemn him as well. If he is not functioning properly, who will see that his rights are defended? Picard is loyal to you. The captain wouldn't have been very forgiving towards Lore had he killed you during any of the times you encountered him. You are the advocate, sweet boy. You are the one with the little paper of rights to wave at them. If you aren't there to wave it, no one else will. Even Geordi will be too broken up about your death to defend the other android. I know this is not making you feel any better, but you still have the power to change fate. All you can do is try." Harper wanted to hold him and tell him that it would be all right, but she was too worried that her words would be a lie. How do you advise someone about dealing with a possible death? Possibly even their own!

"I will have to decide when-" the phone rang. Harper sighed and went to answer it. It was Melody. Data turned around and went to his bedroom. He did not have anything to do here, but he wished to give her some privacy. He also found he had much to brood about.

"I have to tell you something that I have been avoiding, Melody," Harper told her daughter only a few minutes into the conversation.

"You have cancer." Melody had much the same odd sense of humor that Harper did.

"No, just a man living with me," she replied, hoping that this sounded much better by comparison. It was a good try...

"What the hell did you just say? Tell me you're kidding. Have you turned into Aunt Brinna?"

"It's not that kind of...who am I kidding? It is yet to be that kind of relationship, but it may one day be like that, and I am an old woman who will die soon, give me a break!"

"Translation: you're horny and so you've lured this unsuspecting guy into your den of horrors. Do I get to tell him to 'be afraid, be very afraid'?"

"I think he knows already. You're taking this better than I expected. Do you want to know anything about him?" Harper asked.

"A name would be a good start. Is he cute or tall, blond and geeky like you prefer?" her daughter teased.

"No, Stewart Copeland was not available, I had to settle. He's tall...pale and well, I guess you could consider him geeky in a way. His name is...oh hell, you know too much to fall for this. Hold one sec, Melody. I will be right back." Harper put the phone down and went to fetch her housemate.

"She is never going to fall for the ruse," Harper announced at his bedroom door. Data was lying on his bed, but looked at her when she came into his field of vision.

"Why do you say that?" Data asked.

"Even your name is going to ring bells, your assumed name. She's heard me talk about you and has watched enough Star Trek to know the name Soong. On a good note, she doesn't seem too shocked that I am living with someone." Harper shrugged as Data sat up.

"You should have let me come with you to your sister's shower. I could have met the whole family. You are hiding me." He was still in mid-brood.

"Stop it! I need real guidance here, Mr. Depression. Come with me." Harper grabbed his hand and he followed with a sigh of resignation. Once they were back in the living room, Harper put the phone on speaker and told her daughter that her friend was now in the room.

"You still haven't told me his name, Mom," Melody's voice complained.

"Tell her your name," Harper coaxed him.

"I am called Jayden Soong." Data rolled his eyes at Harper for making him do this.

"Very funny, mom. Sounds like a depressed Data. Where did you download that wave?" Melody replied, sounding like she could not believe that her mother would try to pull this one over on her.

"Gee, guessed it right off the bat. He does a great Data impression, doesn't he?" Data was back in the computer chair and she was standing over his shoulder.

"Yeah, except that I don't remember Data being depressed much. Worried a lot, but not depressed. What kind of weird-o is he if he's feeding your Data obsession? Have you given him any money?" Melody sounded upset and worried.

"I paid it all back!" Data defended. He hated being accused of this by Linda.

"Tell him to stop that, mom. If he doesn't stop, I'm gonna call the cops and tell them some guy is taking advantage of you. Mom!" Melody sounded almost frantic.

"Okay that's enough! I guess this was a bad idea. When are you going to be here, Mel?" Harper asked, cutting off the tension-filled conversation and redirecting it.

"That's why I called...I'm gonna be there tomorrow. If he's gonna be there, I'm not-"

"Stop! You are to come here and we will all sit down and get to know each other. I am your mother and you will respect my wishes. Got it?" A sigh of frustration could be heard on the line.

"Fine, but he better not be using my room!"

"He's in the guestroom and always has been."

"How long had this been going on?" Melody asked sounding defeated.

"Two months, three weeks, two days, six hours, eleven minutes and eight seconds." Data answered. Harper suppressed a laugh.

"You just couldn't resist, could you?" Harper said, swatting him only half playfully on the head.

"That was not funny! I-"

Harper cut Melody off saying, "Relax, pumpkin. I have not lost as much of my mind as you think I have. We'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

"Love you too," Melody answered begrudgingly and hung up.

Harper disconnected the call from her end and sighed. "Well, that went perfectly awful."

"It was your idea for me to talk to her," he said defensively.

"Oh, I take full responsibility for fucking it up, but did you have to recite the full exact time?"

"She asked!"

"Data. I don't think you need to worry about what happens in Nemesis, because I'm going to kill you right here and now!"

"If so, can I have a last wish?" he asked coming to stand before her. He moved in close.

"You know my terms," she said, again, waving her finger at him.

"I need you, Harper. Please!" He moved closer.

"What about the tape?" She pointed at the TV. His attention was not to be distracted from his target.

"I will watch it...later." He took hold of her waist, pulling her against him.

"Just a kiss, no further!"

"I will settle for that...for now."

It had been too long... His desire had only increased during the wait. Not that she had not been tempted to start unbuttoning his shirt and just go from there. His kisses were so demanding...so full of passion...Harper forgot everything she had been feeling and could only feel her resolve slipping away...and his need.

"Data..." she moaned. She could feel the evidence of his desire press against her.

"Let me, please, Harper. Do not deny me. Please." She felt so swept away by the sound of his voice, and his touch. His intoxicating touches and scent. He was kissing her cheek, nibbling her ear, and whispering words of desire to her. Data lowered her to the floor. He could have lifted her to the bed...any bed, but the world was a blur and all he could think of was having her love. It was what he needed. Not her body, but her mind. Still, his sexual desire seemed in conflict with this.

"Tell me that you love me, Harper." Data was pleading and commanding all at once.

"I have always loved you." Her eyes were closed and she looked almost on the edge of ecstasy.

"No, Harper, Not him. Not the man on the screen, or the one in the stories, any story. Me! Open your eyes and look at me!" She opened her eyes.

It was there... Data could see it there.

"Tell me...save me..."

Harper reached up at traced his lips with a finger. "Human," she whispered.

"No...I am not." He was confused as to why she would say this now.

"No. That is the first word you said to me. Human. You had that 'in control' stance and were turned in a way that made...my mouth water for days just thinking about it. You are him, but better. You are not so perfect...which oddly makes you more perfect. You get pissy, frustrated, you laugh louder and you're much sneakier. I always knew you had the capacity to be stubborn, even before the chip and with it you're ten times worse. You are the sexiest man I have ever met...but you have to let me up."

Data felt like a warp bubble had just collapsed. "Why?" he pouted.

"Because, we cannot become lovers the day before Melody comes to stay for four days!"

Why would that have anything to do with...oh.

Harper could see the realization hit him.

"You told her we were not lovers," he voiced. She nodded. "You have to stop telling people that," he admonished, only half joking. She started to giggle. And kept giggling. He stopped her giggles with another kiss. For someone who did not want to make love with him, she was awfully damn responsive!

"The day she leaves-" he began, as he helped her to her feet moments later.

"You still have to watch the tape, the whole tape. No blinking and no coffee break. And right now we have a bigger problem." She glanced down for just a second and then pretended not to notice his 'bigger problem.' "Bigger than that if you can imagine..." She gave him an evil grin.

"Your humor chip is malfunctioning. That was not funny!" He growled. He turned and went to the couch. She followed and headed for the chair, but tossed him a pillow first and motioned for him to put it in his lap. She had to catch the pillow a second later.

When Harper stopped laughing she told Data she doubted they would be able to keep Data's 'secret identity' from Melody. "She has heard too much about you through the years to be fooled. She also knows how to look things up, and Soong she already knows. If she looks up Jayden, we're sunk. We may be sunk already as she knows your voice."

"I can change it during her visit, but I could not answer the phone or speak to anyone else outside the two of you."

"Exactly. Not feasible. She needs to know. I think I am going to need her to know anyway." Her voice was suddenly shaky and he did not understand why, it did cause him to loss his erection.

"Why?"

"For when Q returns. I don't want to have to explain to her why her mother is a basket case...again. I want her to be able to figure out that your absence equals...well I think you can put two and two together. She needs to know, so pick an opening on your head to show her all the pretty lights and be ready." Harper gave him an uneasy expression. The shadow of pain that Data had hoped was gone once again clouded her features. She rose and touched his cheek with the tip of her finger.

"Bathing," she said and walked down the hall.

He was being selfish. Data was thinking only of himself and assuming that Harper was in shape to take on his full neurosis. Why each time they thought they had a handle on a past trauma, new ones kept appearing? It had gotten dark outside. He went out on the back deck to sit and look at the stars. He was going to do as Harper had asked and watch the damned tape. Data would do as he planned, wait until after they had gone to see the new movie, and then later view the tape.

The new movie. One of us dies...

"Damn you, Spiner. If you cause me to die I just might return the favor!"

Melody was driving in from Alabama and should arrive around four o'clock Wednesday afternoon. Both Harper and Data requested half days at work, so they were home by a quarter to one. They changed clothes and Harper headed to Melody's room to change the sheets on her bed and dust. Data looked in this room on his first day, but had never needed to enter it again. He entered now to check on Harper. His neurosis seemed to be rubbing off on her, or she was just anxious about Melody's reaction.

"Well, it is unbelievable! Her most logical reaction would be to believe that one or both of us are nuts. Probably that I am nuts and you are feeding my instability by pretending to be Data." Harper was making the bed and defending her concerns at the same time.

"I am Data and you are not unstable...mostly."

"Gee, thanks! Is this where I wake up at my computer and realize this was all a dream?"

Data walked over to her side and stressed his words by tapping her nose. "You are not dreaming." He lowered his finger. "Why do you think you would wake up at your computer?" he asked, intrigued.

"I was there writing when you appeared."

"You did tell me that before. Are you ever going to let me see those stories?" Data tried to give Harper one of his most sincere and innocent smiles, but he was forgetting how to do it right...ha!

"NO! I deleted them, remember!" She looked very unconvinced by his smile. Maybe he really had forgotten...

"I cannot believe that you totally deleted your work. I have never thrown away one of my paintings. Some of them burned in the crash of the Enterprise-D, but I have never destroyed one myself." He tilted his head, his eyes attempting to coax the truth from her.

"Okay, they're on disk. But they're mine. Personal and private. I told you enough. Mushy love stories. Boring really. I tend to be long winded and repeat myself. You'd hate them."

"Do I die in any of them?" Data asked.

"No, of course not! You get saved from death, but no, I don't try and kill you off."

"Am I emotionally assaulted? Or sexually assaulted? Do I become damaged and go berserk?" Harper shook her head through each question.

"I guess you could say that Larria sexually harasses you, but you manage to keep your shirt on. Oh, you are hurt on the leg, but it's very minor. Lessa patches you up as soon as she can."

"Sexually harasses?"

"Larria keeps propositioning you, and won't take no for an answer."

"Why? And who is Larria?"

"Side character. Wants to try out your sexual programs. Please, that's about it. Everybody lives happily ever after and only one security guard dies."

"You said there was a sexually explicit scene? In which story?"

"'Dangerous'. There is more than one scene. And if I ever finish it there will be even more. Lessa decides sex is fun. Is that enough yet? Or should I describe the scene?"

Data's eyes got wide with interest. "Would you?"

"NO! I can't remember it that well. Forgetful human and all. Real is always better than imagined...well it's supposed to be. Make your own scenes, Data."

Harper had been dusting, but Data pulled the duster from her hand and lowered her to the bed. He covered her mouth with his. Why could he not get past this? At the least provocation, he was on her. Data tried to convince himself to release her, but he felt his penis growing hard and he found his hand was slipping up her skirt, touching the skin. He found her panties and began to pull them off.

Just once.

He just wanted to taste this feeling once.

Harper grabbed at his hand and shook her head.

"My daughter is due here in just hours, Data."

"Let me love you for those hours. You will be able to tell if your scenes are accurate..." He was looking for anything to convince her.

"Let me make this perfectly clear to you, Mister," she said, pushing his hand away and sitting up. Her tone was laced with venom. "When you come to my bed, you'd better plan to come to it until Q drags you away. There will be no going back, so you had better be sure. I am not a toy or an experiment. It will not be temporary. If you come to me, you are mine for as long as you live in this time and place. Understand?" He nodded, wide-eyed. "Good. Now go and put fresh towels in your bathroom and make some coffee, please. I think I'm gonna need some."

Data was in the hall, obeying her order, before he knew what had happened.

But she had not told him anything bad...

The front door opened and Melody Talenger walked through at precisely 4:12. Data was covered in his holo-disguise for now and Harper was lecturing him on behaving and not acting like a sex-starved teenager. He was assuring her that he was love starved, not sex starved when the door opened. Harper ran from the kitchen.

"Melody!" her mother cried.

The young girl dropped her bags just in time to receive her mother's embrace. Data turned the corner and stood by the kitchen, holding the cup of coffee that Harper had thrust at him when she heard the door. Data studied the new arrival. Melody was two inches shorter than her mother but had almost the identical figure full of curves. The girl's hair was a lighter shade of brown, longer and thicker than Harper's, but with no wave. Data wondered if this was how Harper had appeared at Melody's age. Both women were beautiful.

The women fussed over each other for several moments before Melody commented on how nice the front yard looked.

"Did your black thumbs suddenly turn green?" she asked, grinning. Harper laughed and shook her head.

"Don't look at me, I can still kill any plant within a hundred yards just by looking at it. He did it," Harper said and turned slightly to indicate Data, who was still standing by the kitchen. Melody had apparently not noticed him before this moment. She stood transfixed and stared at Data in disbelief. She came across the floor with her mouth opened in stunned silence. Data glanced at Harper. She looked suddenly nervous.

"You could be his double. Contacts, makeup and you would be him." Her voice was full of wonder. Melody stopped short of touching Data's face, but looked tempted. She turned to face her mother, question and confusion in her blue eyes.

"Did you hire him or something? This is just too much, Mom. You have to get over him, he's not real!" Melody walked back over to Harper and took her mother's hands in hers. Harper was shaking her head. Data wondered if he should leave.

"The man standing behind you is real. I know who he is and I am not living in a dream...or at least I don't think I am. There is a very good reason why he looks so much like Data, but you may not be ready to hear it. I assure you, baby girl, I'm not crazy." Melody did not look persuaded. "Let's take your things to your room. You need to relax after your drive. Maybe you should take a nap."

"I'm home, but that does not mean I've turned into a little girl again," Melody snapped as she grabbed one of her bags.

"Harper, perhaps I should attend to her things and allow the two of you to speak privately." Data handed the coffee back to its owner and waited for her answer. "I could retire to my room for a time or I could take a walk." Harper smiled thankfully at him. As it turned out, though, he was sent to the store with a list of 14 items that Harper wanted. He listened and of course did not write them down.

Once Data left, Harper and Melody put the girl's things away, and sat on the girl's bed to talk.

"You look well. I guess he's not beating you..." Melody commented, with just a little bitterness.

"If he had, I'd be dead. I didn't tell you, since there was nothing you could do and I didn't want to take your mind away from your studies, but I was attacked last month at the mall." Harper calmed her daughter's strong need for belated panic. She told Melody some of the details and admitted for the first time who had come to her rescue.

"He ran from the house?" Melody asked, shocked, but impressed.

"He knew I was not in the best frame of mind and was worried. You should have seen him. He was astounding! The slime never landed a punch. Then, Jayden knocked him out cold and we called the police. End of story, except the slime got four years in jail for the attack and called me quite a few very nasty things during the moments when he was carted off."

"Are you okay? Did it scare you?"

"I had a few nightmares, but I had a strong shoulder to cry on. Jayden came with me for the trial. He almost never let's me out of his sight." Harper looked like she was lost in thought.

"That could be taken to mean that he doesn't allow you any freedom, Mom. Is he controlling your life? Why is he living here? I know money is tight, but-"

"Not so much anymore. He makes good money and...he needed a place to stay. He had nothing when he first arrived. Nothing but the shirt, or uniform on his back."

"What, StarFleet uniform? Come on Mom, stop talking like he's really Data!"

"He is."

Melody stood up and with a huff of frustration, left the room. "He stays here?" The girl asked, pointing to the guest room...Data's room. Harper nodded and followed her into Data's room. She said nothing as Melody opened Data's closet and looked through the contents. There were four business suits, two pairs of jeans, two khakis, one pair of black pants, six shirts in different colours and patterns, and one StarFleet uniform in black and mustard. Melody grabbed the uniform and shook it at Harper.

"You're both crazy. What, do you take him to parties and have him perform?" Her daughter was almost screaming at her, but Harper decided to take a page from Data's pre-chip days and remain expressionless until Melody was done ranting. Before her daughter finished telling Harper how she was going to commit her and call the police on Data, Harper heard the garage door opening.

Melody stopped when she heard it too. Dumping the uniform on the floor, Melody raced past Harper and down the stairs that led to the garage. After picking up the uniform and laying it on Data's bed, Harper ran after her. Data was just getting out of the van when the door to the house flew open and Melody jumped the two steps down to the floor. Harper was only two seconds behind her.

"Is something wrong, ladies?" he asked, alerted by their ruffled behavior.

"Nothing's wrong at all, I'm just tired of this weird game you both have going on, Mr. Robot." Melody said sashaying towards him. Harper groaned inward, anticipating the response she knew would be coming.

"I am an android, not a robot." Data replied, right on cue. This caused Melody to ball her fist and try and pop him one, right in the face. Judging that she would do more harm to herself than him, Data grabbed Melody's fist and held it firmly one inch from his face.

"I would not advise this action. You could break the bones in your hand." He slowly lowered both his and Melody's hand.

"Melody, stop this! We're telling you the truth. He was not brought here by his choice, but he is here and you have to deal with it." Harper sounded and looked very disappointed in the actions of her daughter. She came over and grabbed the girl, turning Melody roughly to face her.

"He can prove what he claims to be true. Are you ready to see it?" The girl seemed to think vindication was seconds away and nodded with her jaw set.

They both turned to face Data. He turned off the hologram. Melody's eyes went wide and she began to take small steps backwards.

"How did he do that?" she whispered to her mother.

"Hologram. Designed to disguise him so he can go out in public. He can't go out of the house like that can he?" Harper said, gently. She smiled at the golden skinned, amber-eyed man who faced them. He still looked very discomfited. He never liked frightening people. He turned away, heading for the rear of the van and the groceries. Harper led Melody up the stairs and back to her room.

"It's impossible. He's a character in a TV show." Melody mumbled.

"Trust me, I know how you feel. I was quite shocked at first, but as I saw him just two seconds after he popped into the living room and in uniform with tricorder and phaser, it took less to convince me." Harper set the girl down on her bed and kneeled down to talk to her, gently.

"He was brought here by Q. We don't really understand the reason, but he's here to learn something...from me. He is a very interesting person and a bit of a hard head, but sweet nonetheless. He is just like the character, but different too."

"How is he different?" Melody asked, still rattled.

"He has hair on his body. I saw it on his arms," she blushed and did not mention the hair on his chest. "He was also pulled out if his time before the events in 'Insurrection' took place. He found out about the new movie and is quite distraught about it." Harper told her.

"I guess he doesn't like the rumors about his own death." Melody remarked, calming.

"Exactly. He's been bent out of shape for three weeks now. He's been a royal pain in the butt to live with, but I can't say I don't blame him."

"I can't believe that you didn't even mention any of this at the shower. Couldn't you have clued me in at all so I could have been a little prepared for this?" Melody accused, since she too had gone to Brinna's shower. Harper put a finger to her lips and made a hushing sound.

"Don't mention that. He wanted to come with me so he could meet all of you and still hasn't forgiven me for leaving him behind. I don't think we need to tell your grandmother or anyone else who he is. Since you were going to be staying and you know something of him, anyway, I felt you needed to know who he really is. I also wanted to have...someone I could talk to about...all of these impossible happenings." Harper laughed for a moment and Melody looked at her expectantly.

"What?"

"Can you imagine if we did tell your grandmother? Hell, just the fact that I have a man living here is going to send her over the edge. She always believes I'm too reckless." Harper grinned at the thought.

"Can't say I disagree. Nonny just wants you to be happy, but are you sure this will make it so?" Harper gave her daughter's hand a squeeze.

"Star Trek humor? Funny. Seriously, I have no idea. I know I can't kick him out. I don't want him to leave. I know I need to introduce him around the family, but he's got to get over his being upset about 'Nemesis' and the events that took place in 'First Contact'." Harper was musing, but this reminder caused Melody to gasp.

"Oh, God! I forgot about that one! Mom, he was involved with that Borg! You told me that- you hinted that you had feelings...and that he had feelings... Mom, he was with that Borg woman!" Melody was horrified and revolted at the thought of what Data had done and what could come to pass.

"I saw the movie too, I was with you." Harper reminded her. "He suffered from those events. You can't imagine how he suffers. Don't throw it in his face, baby girl. I warn you, I'll take you over my knee if you do. I may also toss you out on your ear. He is my guest and I care for him...a lot. So don't piss me off by ticking him off!" Harper gained the fierce edge that Melody had come to dread over the years. You couldn't argue Harper out of anything if she reached this point and there would be hell to pay if you tried. Melody knew her place. She looked her mother in the eye and wisely chose to nod.

Harper patted her daughter's knee and nodding herself, left the girl to freshen up.


	9. Chapter 9 Burning Down The House

Chapter Nine – Burning Down the House

"Is she coping?" Data asked when Harper entered the kitchen. He had put the groceries away and was standing by the door to the back deck. Harper came to stand beside him.

"Not easily, but she's working her way through it."

"I see now that you handled my appearance well, perhaps better than most. Perhaps it is why you were chosen." They stood, two feet apart, just looking at each other for a time.

"I'm going to start dinner. Will you eat with us?" Harper considered reaching out for his hand, but resisted.

"No," Data answered, taking note of the aborted movement. "I...I believe I will go out for a time. It will give Melody the opportunity to be at ease. She looked quite frightened when I deactivated the holo-disguise." He was still bothered by that, Harper realized.

"I know that could have gone better, I should have...could have better prepared her. You were right. I should have let you come to the shower, or at least talked about you during it." She sounded so apologetic. But having the fact that she did not even mention him shoved in his face...hurt.

"I was not trying to eavesdrop, Harper, but I could hear her, as she raised her voice. She was sickened by the thought-"

"Shh. You can't let one upset and confused teenager destroy all the progress you've made. You're always going to be faced with those who cannot or will not understand. Wasn't that true at home? Were there questions that you couldn't answer? Stares of uncertainty that you couldn't face?"

Data found he could not even face Harper now.

He had been treated differently after the events that played out in engineering. The details known by anyone other than Picard and Deanna were sketchy at best, but enough information had gotten out to give those he passed in the corridors...pause. Even those that greeted him as a hero...held something back. He could feel the doubt and mistrust from all corners of the ship.

Even Geordi had been reluctant to ask for details. It was as though Data's best friend did not want to know. As though the not knowing would make it go away. As though ignorance would cause the taint on Data to fade away.

Data suspected that Counselor Troi had even needed counseling to enable her to deal with him. She had been repelled by the truth. She tried to hide it...tried to look as though it were pity or even understanding in her dark eyes. But Data knew what it had been.

Revulsion.

Data turned back to face his housemate. Why was it that she did not look at him that way? Harper knew more of the truth than most of his shipmates...but she did not pause. She did not hold back because of the taint, but rather because of the taint's affect on him.

Data felt invaded.

Melody had invaded their private little world. Data had never shared so many secrets with one person. He wanted to be able to talk to Harper. Right now, right here. But even out of the room, the daughter stood in the way. They were not alone and if he allowed his deep emotions to surface just now, the girl would again be frightened. Harper would understand and could help him, but Melody's presence got in the way of that.

He would have to wait...and he did not like that one little bit.

"You read too many of those fan stories," he said, trying to lighten the mood, or perhaps just his own. "No one but the captain and the counselor knew anything about what happened. I had no trouble with the perceptions of the crew after-" Harper put a hand on his chest and was shaking her head at him. Her expression was one of knowing.

"'...Now you're learning to lie...' She was wrong there; you suck too badly at this for it to even be considered a lie. You are not allowed to leave this house for the next ten hours at least. Understand? You want something to break...fine, but leaving is out of the question." Harper's eyes looked deep blue at this moment and full of compassion.

"If I break something I will frighten her again." His face was contorted by the emotions flooding him.

"I will worry about Melody. You worry about Data. You know, I really hate that chair in the living room. I would have an excuse to get a new one if it...was broken." She had done it again...he found himself snorting with amusement.

"You want me to direct my frustrations on the chair?" She nodded at his question, smiling. "You are a strange women."

"None stranger," she replied, beaming with pride in her oddness. Data laughed.

"What will Melody's reaction be if she comes in the room to find me ripping the chair apart?" he asked, feeling his anger and frustration turn to feelings of...need. He took the hand that she had pressed against his chest and used it to pull her closer.

"Hopefully, she will have the sense to...duck." Harper grinned at him with her eyes dancing. How the threat of having an angry android tearing her house up could not cause Harper fright or even hesitation, he did not understand. Her eyes held no hint of fear, doubt or even disappointment.

"You should be frightened of my temper, Harper. You know what damage I can do. If I lost control I could kill both of you in seconds. You could be harboring your own death," Data warned Harper to fear him as he considered bringing her fingers to his mouth.

She cleared her expression. Her eyes studied him intensely. "You also could have raped me weeks ago." Data's head jerked up, he attention torn from her fingers.

"I...would...not…-"

"So, your ethical subroutines are functioning within normal parameters?" She asked, knowing the answer. He only sighed in response. "You are not going to push me away, Data. And you're not going to fracture my faith in you either."

Data did as Harper asked, and remained in the house. He joined the ladies for dinner and while Melody still looked wary of him, she kept her doubts to herself. Still, when Harper went to take her evening bath and Data was left alone, in the living room, with the girl, he was nervous. Melody was watching the TV. Her taste in programs did not impress Data so; he retired to the computer to do some investment research. The chair Harper had mentioned was old and needed replacing whether he tore it apart or not. There were also other items of furniture that could use replacing. He looked into investment possibilities that would insure he could provide Harper with any new household items she wanted. He was working his way up to talking to her about quitting one of her jobs. The sharp upward turn of their finances eased her stress, but Harper was still overworked.

Data hoped that Harper would think of this idea herself and thus negate the need for him to bring it up. He knew which way he was leaning regarding which job she should leave. While he disliked the hours she kept at the cooking store, he knew she was closer to the people there. He had heard Harper tell every one of the ladies there that she loved them and each one in turn had returned the sentiment. He wanted her to remain there and change some of her hours. The daytime job was better paying, but was too stressful and took up too much time. Data wanted her to delete that one.

"What are you doing?"

Data turned to see Melody standing by his left shoulder and staring at the computer screen. Data had his and Harper's savings account on the screen at the moment. He knew what it said already, but he was hoping the orderly column of numbers would help him to organize his thoughts. He had wanted to discuss this subject with Harper sooner, but believed the holiday could provide him with the perfect opportunity now.

"I am...I was looking over investment possibilities. Your mother wants new furniture and I intend to see she is able to purchase whatever she wishes." Data's answer was just factual. He put no feeling into his words. He was aware of how uncomfortable this girl made him feel.

He caught Melody glancing around the room. She even looked into the dinette. "All the stuff here is old. The only thing she's bought since daddy died is the computer." Melody looked on the screen at the figures there. "What did you do, beam into a bank and rob it? Mom's never had that much money." Melody pointed at the balance line. She was correct, of course. Harper's balance had been just above the red before Data came. It plunged into the red for a month after and Data intended to see that this never happened again.

"I am good with mathematics," he told her, choosing the understatement intentionally.

"She said you worked. You make good money?"

"Yes," he answered. He did not like to brag.

"This is a joint account. You use her money to invest?" Worry and suspicion crept into the girl's voice.

"I have increased our combined funds by 27 through investing," he informed her.

"Really? Combined funds...you make more than mom?" Melody asked. Data nodded. The fact that Harper would never divulge this type of information to her daughter never occurred to him.

"Substantially more, though I do not mean to imply that she is not valued by her employer. I have done a comparison of the salary paid for her position by different employers across the country and she is in the top seven percentile considering cost of living and other factors."

"Wow. Top ten, cool," Melody replied, thoughtfully. She remained quiet for a moment and Data wondered what would come next. "Mr. Data," she began, with a serious expression. "I'm sorry I tried to pop you one. I'm...I'm dumb enough to think that I could change any of this by objecting, and I guess you're just trying to make the best of...the impossible. I still can't believe this is real...that you're real. And she walks around like people from TV become real every day. I need a beer!" Melody sounded confused and exasperated, but not upset. Data found her comment regarding the beer amusing since Harper had also wanted to consume alcohol, hoping it would assist her in coping, on their first day together. He still did not understand that precisely.

"We only have wine. Your mother does not drink beer. Would you like me to get you a glass?" he offered. Slowly she smiled.

"No, that's okay. Maybe later. I think I'll run out and get junk food before the stores close." She turned and headed for her room, but turned back and looked at him. "You need anything from the store while I'm going? Wires or WD-40 or something?"

Data smiled. "No, but I thank you for asking." Melody smiled, nodded and turned back down the hall to get her purse.

Harper came out with wet hair while Melody was gone.

"Where's Mel, Data?" she asked. He had taken control of the TV and was watching the History Channel.

"She went to buy junk food. She believes it, in combination with the wine we have in the house will assist her in coping with my existence in your timeline. I do not believe I can take that as a compliment. My being here has caused both of you to desire intoxication rather that deal with the fact that I am indeed real and before you."

Harper laughed and plopped down beside him on the couch. She had brought her brush and was attempting to untangle her waves. He found himself thinking back to the evening that he had brushed her hair after the attack. While he had been very concerned about her, he still found the activity...soothing. Knowing that Harper was very patient where he was concerned, Data gently took the brush from her hand, stood, and went to the kitchen. He returned a moment later with a glass of wine for her. He motioned for her to sit on the floor, with her back leaning against the couch; she gave him a quizzical look, but complied. He handed her the wine and sat down behind her, with one leg on either side of her. He began to brush her hair.

"IQ of millions and I've reduced you to a beautician," she commented, dryly.

"I find this soothing," he informed her.

"What, like petting a cat?" she asked. He analyzed this suggestion.

"Exactly!" Data was surprised that he had not thought of this himself.

"I knew I should have called that lady back and gone to get that kitten."

"You were planning on getting a cat?" he asked.

"No, I was planning on getting YOU a kitten. You always seem lonely when I go to bed and you commented about...missing Spot. And in case you haven't noticed I have a weakness when it comes to you. Have trouble denying you anything," Harper said, turned to glance at him. Her movements interfered with his brushing. Data took hold of her head and gently turned it back. She giggled.

"I have not noticed you having difficulty in denying me. You succeeded in denying my desire for intimacy just this morning."

"With good damn reason, and you know you're weakening my resolve!" she admonished.

"I am?" Data asked, eagerly.

"Let me have that brush so I can throttle you with it!"

Melody returned and they all decided to watch a horror movie together...well the girls did, Data had no idea why one would want to watch such a thing.

"So, if I am ever involved in a horror situation," Data began, "I should never say that I will be right back and I should not engage in sexual activity. In addition, the following of a noise to determine the source is ill advised?" His questions caused the females in the room, the dark room, to roll on the floor laughing. He was sitting on the couch, but both Harper and Melody were on the floor surrounded by 'junk food' and pillows.

"Right! And never answer the door or the phone. Calling the police is usually useless, as the bad guy usually cuts the phone line. A cell phone would help with that one, but mother will never get one since she likes to live in the dark ages," Melody teased, poking her mother with an elbow.

"You're just mad because I won't buy you one," Harper retorted.

"I think you can afford it now. Data showed me the loads of money you two have now. Why can't I have one? It would be easier for you to get in touch with me."

Harper gasped. "Loads of money? What the he--heck are you talking about. I don't know anything about any loads of money. Did you rob a bank and not tell me, Data?" Harper sat up and turned to look sternly at her housemate. Data pretended that he had suddenly fallen asleep. He got a pillow thrown at him for his ridiculous efforts.

"I did inform you that we were no longer in jeopardy of slipping into the red," he defended as Harper came over to shake his shoulders. His eyes were dancing in the dark.

"Out of the red is a far cry from having 'loads of money'. You said something about investing, didn't you?" Harper asked, collapsing beside him.

"I did have you sign papers for the investment account. I told you what they were. Do you have that bad a memory?" he asked, confused.

"Who are you, again?" she teased. He reached over and using just one finger, tickled her side. Harper gave a very satisfying jerk and screamed with laughter. Data grinned and increased his attack to two fingers. This was even more soothing than brushing her hair. Or perhaps soothing was not the proper word.

They did not retire to their respective rooms until past three in the morning. Data found few redeeming qualities in horror movies, but something about watching them with the women had some appeal. Data was still grinning as he listened to the sounds of the women getting ready for bed. He still had so many things he wanted to talk to Harper about. The evening had turned out enjoyable, but he missed his time alone with her. Reluctantly, he got ready for bed.

The sounds from Melody's room soon ceased, but Harper, Data could still hear as he lay in his bed. Inspired, he retrieved the communicator and tapped it. He could even hear the one in her room chirp. He listened as she went to answer it.

"I'm not in the bath, Data," were her first words. He grinned.

"No, I did not think you were. I simply...wished to talk with you. I...just wanted to talk." He could envision the smile gracing her lips.

"Then come here, but you must promise to behave." He did so and went to her room.

She was sitting in her bed, having just put the communicator on her nightstand. She patted the other side of the bed and told him to sit. This room was small and crowded with furniture, so there was no place else to sit, so he sat where she instructed him.

"So, you seem almost relaxed. Feeling better?" Harper asked. The way he was sitting, Data could not face her. He realized that he would have to get all the way on the bed to look her in the eye. She did not mind, so he did.

"I believe I am. The need to rip the chair apart has subsided," Data assured her.

"Damn, I'm really tired of that chair!" Harper teased. He rolled his eyes at her. "So what's on your mind then?"

"Your having two jobs," he answered. She had not expected this and looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I...there is no longer any need for you to work two jobs for financial support. We are well into the black and...it is not needed." He was truly unsure as to how she was going to react to this.

"You want me to quit my second job?" She sounded alarmed. The thought of never seeing her friends at the cooking store did not appeal to her.

"Actually...no. I wanted to suggest that you leave your full-time job and rework your hours at the store to be daytime hours. No weekends though."

"What! That's my main job! How are we going to survive without- - How much do you make, anyway?" It suddenly dawned on Harper that Data had never told her and she had trusted him to handle the finances, so she had just never...looked.

"If you wished, you do not need to work at all. I can support you with my income alone. You need the rest, Harper. You work too hard and have few days off. You are even working on Friday while Melody is here."

"It's the day after Thanksgiving! The biggest shopping day of the year! I have to work, Melody knows that!" Data did not understand this and told Harper as much. She tried to explain, but it sounded foolish to her as well once she began trying to defend it. Harper gave up and sunk down in the bed, letting her headrest on the pillow.

Data wanted her to only work part-time. Wanted her to give up her full-time job...and depend on him! She could not imagine this. He assured her that all would be fine. He was to receive an impressive bonus at the end of the month and he had plans that would ensure his next bonus was even bigger. He wanted her to relax and enjoy her life. He also wanted her to plan a vacation. If going to California was what it took to meet Brent Spiner, then that was what Data wanted to do. A weekend trip to a convention would be fun. He wanted her to plan it so she could remember and be looking forward to it.

"A vacation? A weekend getaway? Sounds...romantic."

"It does?" he asked, surprised. She was blushing. He had been resting his head on a pillow too, but now rolled over to be closer to her.

"Well, yeah. We would have to fly...get a hotel room."

"One room?" he questioned.

"You're incorrigible!" she told him shaking her head.

"Yes, but only on odd numbered days."

"What?" she asked confused.

"I am practicing 'not making any sense'. You do it so well, I thought I could emulate you and have it down near perfect." He could not help but laugh as he teased her. She tried to tackle him, but quickly remembered his strength and realized how impossible this was. She ended up with him pinning her firmly but gently, beneath him on the bed. She grinned helplessly up at him. His kiss came as no surprise. This was not good...well it was, but...it was a dangerous place for him to be kissing her.

"Data. Stop. I want to be able to...not have to restrain myself when we...do this. If we give in now, we'll have to be quiet and I don't want to be quiet." Her voice was soft and did not help distract him.

"I can be quiet," he pledged.

"I don't want you to be quiet. When we make love, I want to make you...scream with ecstasy," she cooed. His eyes went wide.

"And after telling me this you expect me to just get up and go to my room?" he asked, aghast.

"No. You can...stay. But you have to keep that dangerous weapon in your britches," she scolded.

He looked insulted. "Dangerous weapon?"

"I find it difficult to combat," she said with a sickly sweet smile.

He shook his head at her. "You need new jokes." he told her and edged closer. "And you need to not combat any 'weapons' that happen to belong to any man living in this house at this moment in time."

"And you think I need new jokes?"

Data had his eyes closed and appeared to be dreaming when Harper awoke the next morning. She had fallen asleep in his arms, but they had both changed positions in their sleep. Strange, she had never seen any indication that he ever moved in his sleep in the series. He was on his back with one arm resting on his stomach area and the other at his side.

If Harper had ever wondered if it was possible for him to react to a dream, or if he ever had erotic dreams, her question was now answered.

Data moaned.

The mere sound caused shivers to run up and down her spine. It was a deep, low moan, and one that could not signify anything other than arousal. Harper was careful to remain still. This could prove interesting so she did not want to wake him just now and spoil it all.

His other hand moved to his side and he clenched his fist, tensing everywhere. He was definitely having an interesting dream. She wished, just for a moment, that she could borrow Counselor Troi's empathic powers to know for sure that he was enjoying this dream...and just how much.

Harper closed her eyes for a moment, just to collect herself. She had been fighting off his advances for the last few days, but she was having just as much trouble fighting her own impulses. She had been a widow for five years now, and unfortunately fate had chosen to leave her alone during the first year that she had entered her sexual peak. She had always assumed the peak was a myth, hype or just untrue. Not so, she found out. But the biggest frustration was that after Robin, Harper had just never met anyone else who turned her on. She had been talking with some of the younger girls at the store one day six months ago about television or movie stars they found sexy. They all could easily think of five if not ten men they found toe curling hot. Harper could think of one, maybe two. The first, of course, had been Spiner...

Living these last few months in the same house with one of the few beings she found attractive in this world had been difficult. Not jumping on top of him and screaming 'Take me, take me, and take me again!' had been all but impossible. She grinned and tried not to giggle. She opened her eyes to see if Data was still asleep.

Most of him was.

While Harper had been trying to gather the strength to resist him, he had gone and unconsciously found another way to test her paper-thin resolve.

His was fully erect and his erection had found its way through the openings that underwear and men's pajama manufactures had thoughtfully provided in the front of each of these garments.

His long, hard length ended in a perfectly beautiful, round head. She took a long moment to admire his long golden...rod.

Oh, God. Talk about bad jokes. Golden rod, that had to be the worst! Which meant she would, of course, have to find a way to work it into conversation and tease him about it!

Harper glanced back to Data's face. The amorous expression was still there. Suddenly she was jealous of his dream. She had only had boring dreams and would have loved to have a hot, sexy dream. But maybe she could take advantage of his...

Ever so carefully she moved closer. She could not decide whether to take him into her mouth, or just tickle the tip with her tongue. Oddly, she took note that she could smell bacon cooking. Damn, Melody was up. That could complicate this. Too bad, she's a big girl and surely she had to know that her mother was human...even if the man whose penis her mother was considering was not.

Harper lifted up so she could reach her objective without waking its owner. Her movements had been so careful and slow that Data's attention had not been...aroused.

God, she had to stop that!

She shifted over the last few inches and glazing appreciatively at her target, she extended her tongue. She just grazed the lovely indention, hoping that Data had been designed for extra sensitivity in that spot. He did not wake...but he did gasp! Another shiver of desire raced through her. That had been a very sexy gasp! Having enjoyed his response and the feel of his penis on her tongue, Harper moved to repeat her oral caresses. She traced the lines of the head with the tip of her tongue and was about to take him in her mouth when he lifted his head. He had gasped once more and then treated her to a wonderfully low and guttural moan of pleasure before awaking.

Data did not say anything. His mouth was open and he found it impossible not to moan again. He was stunned, shocked, astounded, and wonderfully enthralled. He was dreaming of Harper. Of her telling him that she would not make him wait any longer. She was removing her clothing in a seductive manner while standing before him. He never thought this action to be particularly stimulating...until he envisioned Harper performing her own little striptease. Desire ripped through him.

Data wanted Harper. He wanted her now!

But something pulled Data from this exciting dream. Reinstating his cognitive functions to active, Data experienced a flood of sensory information. Gasping and moaning even before he opened his eyes Data realized he had an erection and someone had noticed it.

Harper's eyes were the ones that thankfully greeted him when Data parted his lids. Her tongue danced on the head of his penis, before she slipped her mouth over him and lowered her head to take him as deeply into her mouth as she could. Unfortunately, Dr. Soong had created Data with genitalia more generous than her throat was deep. But the sensations were...startling.

She slowly lifted her head, released him and came back down for another assault. This time as her lips passed over the head, he could feel her teeth just barely pressing against his skin. Data was astonished at how stimulating this felt. In fact, it caused him to throw his head back and moan in sheer savage ecstasy. Suddenly he was struck with indecision. He could not decide if he wanted this delightful torture to continue or if he wanted to ask her to allow him to...torture her just a little...no his ethical subroutine did not even like teasing about torture.

"I want to make love with you, Harper. You cannot tell me that you intend to deny me now," Data managed to say through clenched teeth.

"No, I don't suppose I can," she cooed. She hovered just above his penis, and for a moment he could not help but want her to lower her mouth to him again.

Harper moved towards Data's face and he reached for her. Pulling her into his arms, Data rolled with her until Harper's back was to the bed and he was above her. He felt as though he could devour her mouth and perhaps work his way down. As he pressed hot kisses to her lips and penetrated her mouth with his tongue, she pushed against his chest. Her fingers began to work on the buttons of his pajama shirt. She finished unbuttoning and began to slip his shirt off his shoulders. How was it the removal of clothing could feel so sensuous?

"Ah!" Came a shout...from the kitchen. Both Harper and Data gave a start and wondered if they should investigate.

There was a crash.

"Mom! Oh, God!"

Then there was a scream.

Data was out of bed when he heard the crash. He tucked his erection back into his pajama bottoms and flung the bedroom door open. Harper followed just a second behind him.

There was the strong smell of burned bacon and burning grease. The heat of the fire could be felt and suddenly the blare of the smoke alarms added to the sensory overload.

Data took stock of the situation as soon as he could see it. The fire centered on the floor of the kitchen, but a grease trail was burning up the front of the stove.

"Harper, grab Melody and the phone! Call 911 once you are both outside of the house!" Data ordered her.

"Yes, sir!" she responded, not able to think of any better way to answer. Melody was on the floor where she had dropped. The girl was hurt from splatters of grease, on her legs, but Harper counted on the adrenaline that would be pulsing through her daughter's system to keep her going until help arrived. Harper saw Data grab one of the blankets that she kept in the living room to smother the flames. Harper had the phone now and was racing back for her daughter. She pulled Melody to her feet and coaxed her towards the door as she turned on the phone and dialed the short number with her other hand. She glanced back to see Data smothering the flames with the blanket.

"Yes, I have a kitchen fire." Harper told the 911 operator. "There are injuries. One is fighting the flames. No, we are outside. Yes. He almost has it out now." Harper felt compelled to help Data. She shoved the phone into her daughter's hand.

"Tell the woman about your burns and what happened. I'm going to help." Harper raced back inside, but Data had been able to get past the fire enough to reach the extinguisher that was under the sink. He was blasting the final flame when she came up behind him.

Harper grabbed a towel out from a drawer and wet it down as she scanned the body of her housemate. He seemed...undamaged. She turned from the sink and was heading back outside to give this towel to her daughter, but Data called.

"Is she badly burned?" he said still holding the extinguisher. His pajama top hung unbuttoned and both the material and his chest were filthy with soot and grease.

"There are several patches on her legs, but they're not large, I can't tell how deep they go," Harper answered as she headed back out. He nodded. She could hear sirens as soon as she had the cool towel gently wrapped on her daughter's legs. Melody had groaned with pain and looked about to pass out now that the crisis had past. Harper knew how she felt, except for the burns.

As paramedics and police raced up the walk, Data appeared covered in a robe and his holo-disguise. He pulled Harper to her feet and wrapped her robe around her with care. Melody yelped in pain as the paramedics treated her burns and the police officer questioned Harper and Jayden regarding the fire. The fire department had only been a few seconds behind the police and once the officer secured the scene they made sure the fire was out.

"Are you injured, sir?" the second paramedic asked Jayden. Data had not had time to clean up his face and looked like there could be burns under the dirt.

"No, I am only dirty, thank you. Will we need to take Melody to the hospital?" he asked, not having heard the extent of her injuries.

"I don't think so, sir. We're going to clean and dress your daughter's burns. If you just change the dressing daily and reapply the antibiotic cream, she should heal well. If you see signs of infection, she can see her GP." Data's eyes reflected his astonishment over Melody being called his daughter. Harper caught sight of the reaction and grinned at his discomfort.

The firemen, paramedics, and police finally left and the little trio was left to survey the damage. Melody felt terrible at having caused the fire and told her mother so. Harper just told her that she would now get to pay for their Thanksgiving dinner...out.

The smell of smoke covered almost everything in the living room and kitchen. The bedrooms had been spared the odor since the fire had been stopped so quickly. Data went through the living area and opened all the windows in hopes the smell would dissipate. Harper and Melody went to clean up and change clothes. Data showered after Melody and joined the ladies in Harper's room to discuss what they would do now. The smoke smell in the house caused the ladies to cough and feel dirty again. It was agreed that they should leave the house, but as everything was closed for the holiday, where they should go was a quandary.

"We could drive to the mountains. Everything's closed there too, but it would be pretty with the snow, and you love to drive," Harper suggested, smiling at Data. He could not argue? He did like driving.

"Could we get a cabin up there?" Melody asked, remembering a time in the past when she and her parents had spent a family weekend in Helen, Georgia and had shopped until they dropped.

"You have to reserve those months in advance, Pumpkin. But we could try for a room or two somewhere. You in?" Harper asked Data.

"I am in," he assured them, grinning. Melody thought this sounded silly and laughed as she went to repack her bag.

The van was quickly packed and the house was locked. Some windows were left open to help with the airing out, but a neighbor was asked to keep an eye on the place. Since they had seen the commotion earlier, they understood and were eager to help.

The view of and from the mountain area was...refreshing. The roads ran right next to a long drop and Data found this fascinating. He was not a fan of heights, but had only discovered that after the installation of the emotion chip. It was an almost totally irrational fear for him, but not an uncommon one among humans, or so Deanna had told Data when he had first noticed it. Data had not enjoyed the effects of the phobia, but finally having an honest to goodness one was...intriguing.

Harper knew of a place were there was a waterfall and they wanted to go, but the park was also closed. They ended up finding a hotel with two rooms that were only two doors apart. Finally finding an open store, they bought a deck of cards and some pretzels to use as chips. Data taught them how to play poker, but the girls neglected to tell him that there was a well-used poker set with clay chips in Harper's closet that used to have a weekly workout once upon a time...

Data was suspicious after he lost to Melody twice and Harper thrice in seven games. They had dinner at a local restaurant and took a walk through the closed town wishing that they could shop the stores when they were open. Harper's work schedule for the following day was going to hamper that.

Melody wanted to watch some TV that Harper found unappealing, so she agreed to continue walking with Data.

"Fooled you for a bit, didn't we? Thought you were going to clean up against the naïve little twenty first century women, huh?" Harper teased, referring to the poker game. Data reached into his pocket, pulled out a pretzel and ate it.

"I still won," he reminded her and ate another one of his 'chips'. She laughed and took hold of his hand. Reaching across, she pulled more of the pretzels out of his pocket and munched on them too.

"We're going to need a new kitchen floor," Harper noted, changing the subject.

"I am aware that you found the colour of the tile in the kitchen to be...less than satisfactory. I hope you are not going to try and convince me that you are...all broken up about it."

"Now where would you have gotten a crazy idea like that?" she asked with mock innocence.

"I am sure it had nothing to do with observing you sweep the floor and grumbling 'this damn ugly floor attracts dirt like a magnet' on more than one occasion." Data grinned at her. "I must correct you, however, magnets do not attract dirt." She gave him a growl of exasperated disgust.

"Then I guess it's a good thing we're getting rid of that floor since if it really is magnetized, I could wake up on morning to find you stuck to it, huh?"

"I have built in safeguards against that," he advised her, with an insulted look.

"Ah huh." Harper shook her head at him and headed for the door to her room.

"I do! I can reverse my polarity," Data assured her, walking after her.

"Sure you can. I'll be sure to remember that the next time we're attacked by a giant evil-doing magnet." Harper rolled her eyes at him. Data caught up with her and pulled her into his arms. With heavy coats on, this was not as romantic, but it would have to do. She was not repelled by his kiss...but rather attracted as usual.

With a flush to her cheeks that was not caused by the cold, Harper returned to her room. Melody looked up and gave her mother a surprised expression, but said nothing. Melody was already in her pajamas, so Harper took her bath and also got ready for bed. Once in bed, Harper picked up the phone and rang Data's room.

"Just wanted you to know I didn't drown again," she teased.

"Good work, keep it up! Good night, Harper. I will wake both of you in the morning."

"Good night, sweetness. See you then.

Harper reclined in the dark, replaying the events of the day in her head as she often did each night. The fire had been frightening, but Q had been right, Data had been able to stop it with little damage. He also had made damn sure that her homeowner's insurance was paid up. She thought of that morning and...how close they had come. And how much she had enjoyed hearing him moan with pleasure. A shiver ran through her again and she sighed.

"Thinking about him?" her daughter's voice asked her in the dark.

"Guilty as charged. I thought we were sleeping."

"Not yet, and I think I'm the guilty one, not of dreaming of a certain occupant of room 19, but of ruining Thanksgiving and...the house. I'm sorry mom." Melody sounded a bit depressed. "I wanted to surprise you and fix breakfast since you would be fixing dinner," she tried to explain as though Harper had just accused her of something.

"I know that, Pumpkin. I also know that for a straight A's student who is bright everywhere else, you are almost criminally foolish in the kitchen. How I could have picked up cooking from your grandmother and excelled at it with my half load of brains and you with your grade A Prime brains never did, I don't understand. If you didn't want me to cook, Mel, all you had to do was say so..." she teased. Melody signed mournfully. "If you ever get married, make sure HE can cook. In the meantime, stay out of kitchens, baby girl. Just say 'no' to the stove."

Melody was embarrassed, but she found she could not help but laugh. If her mother was getting into her silly "stand up comedy" routine, then she really wasn't mad. Still that was a shocker, Melody had almost burned the house down. Why was she so forgiving? Not that her mother was a big grudge holder, but she did get mad at Melody for doing stupid things. Melody thought she would never stop hearing about the time when her mother asked her to go to the laundry room and put the load of clothes that were in the washer into the dryer. Her mom had gone downstairs an hour later to retrieve the clothes, but had come back up with a wet pair of work pants in her hand.

"How in the world could it escape you that if I wanted you to put the clothes in the dryer it was understood that I wanted you to TURN IT ON AS WELL!"

Okay, so that had been stupid, but she had never done it again! And it occurred to Melody that if her mother was waiting until she brought it up to even rib her, she had to be distracted. And that could only mean Data.

"You know, I'm surprised you're here," Melody whispered to her mother.

"Why, did you expect me to drive back to the house and leave you two here?"

"No, I mean I'm surprised you're sleeping in my room and not...his." The room got quiet for a moment. "I know you said that it wasn't like that between you two, but you also said you were sure it would be. I know he was in your room this morning. I don't know when he went there, but it was quiet when I went by."

"He's gotten used to being able to talk with me when he wants to. He had some things he wanted to talk about last night and he couldn't wait. He can be impatient at times. We were just talking...I told him to stay...there...fully clothed in his pj's on the other side of the bed."

"He didn't come out of the bedroom so fully clothed, ma. His shirt was totally unbuttoned, I may have been in shock at the time, but it came back to me later. Does he like to sleep in the nude or something?" Melody sounded more curious than Harper wanted her to be.

"I don't know if he does!" Harper answered, defensively. "He kept them on while he was in there with me. We just woke up and...well... we were...kissing and..."

"Oh, shit, I interrupted you!" Melody gasped.

"Watch that mouth, girl! We are perfectly capable of controlling ourselves while you're here. It would not be appropriate for us to...while you're here. Now get your mind out of the gutter!" Harper gulped, realizing that she was again, guilty as charged.

Melody was quiet for a time and Harper wondered if she had gone to sleep.

"It's not like you're cheating on Daddy, Mom. Some people don't even wait a year. You've waited long enough." Melody paused here for a breath. "Do you miss him?" the girl asked, with a tinge of sadness.

"Every day." Harper sighed.

"He would have wanted you to be happy, Mom."

"You know, he used to tease me that if...if anything ever...happened to him, I'd be remarried in months, a year at the latest."

"Did you think he was trying to guilt you into staying away from dating? It was a compliment, Mom. Daddy loved you, all of you, just the way you are. He told me that he never thought you would give him a second look, not to mention a second date. He was delirious that you did."

"He was a...wonderful man. God, I miss him." Harper found she could not stop the tears. Melody got out of her bed and came over to embrace her mother.

"I do too. I wish he could have been here to see me graduate and get into college."

"He would have been so proud, but he always was. You took after him in the brains department."

"Yeah, you don't have any. Guess that's why the really smart android wants to talk to you so often, huh. Must be all the dumb things you say," Melody teased sarcastically.

"He did tell me I need new jokes," Harper admitted.

"You're hopeless."

Sunday morning came sooner that Harper expected and Melody was getting ready to leave. Data had taken her bags out to her car so he and Harper stood together, waiting for Melody to come out of the house. Harper was already wearing her work clothes.

Melody finally came out and threw her arms around her mother. Several minutes of tearful good-byes were exchanged before the women finally released each other. The eighteen year old then turned to Data. He extended his hand, but she shook her head and flung her arms around his neck. He grinned pleasantly and returned her hug.

"Keep taking care of my mom for me, please. She looks happier than I've seen her in a long time, D-Jayden," Melody said, with a soft smile.

"I will do my best," he promised and turned his head to look at Harper. She just looked a bit embarrassed. The girl nodded and got in the car after Data opened the door for her. The pair stood together and waved as Melody drove away.

"Rotten brat, look what she did to my makeup! I know I have mascara running down my face." Harper grumbled, doing a poor impression of an unaffected and unloving mother. Data brushed a tear from her eyes and looked fondly at her.

"Then wash it off. You do not need it to look beautiful and I doubt you ever did." Harper sniffed and grinned at him.

"You're just flattering me cause you are hoping I'll call in and tell work I'm gonna be an hour or two late." She teased. She was not 100 accurate in this statement, but it sounded like a good start!

"Shall I get you the phone?" Data asked, hopefully.

"No, you horny man! You're gonna have to wait until I get off work!" He looked like she had said something very distasteful.

"I am not 'horny'! My desire to share a sexual relationship with you is not based on physical need. It is more a –"

"Save it, sweetie, I think I've written enough excuses for you in my stories to be able to explain it away better than even you could. There is nothing wrong or unethical about wanting intimacy. As long as you want your partner to have as much fun as you do, then the sky's the limit." Data decided not to argue.

But in their case, time was a limiter. Harper had just enough time to wash her face and kiss him goodbye before she was close to late.

Harper was exhausted when she returned that evening. After her dinner, which Data prepared in their burned kitchen, she took her bath. He had a glass of wine waiting for her when she returned. She sipped at it gratefully and smiled at him as he led her to the couch. He sat her down at one end, lifted her legs up and sitting down at the other end, he began to massage her feet and calves. She sighed with delight.

"You really are hopeful, aren't you?" she teased. Her eyes were closed and she realized this might earn her a cessation to his massage, but she just had to tease him. Besides, just his touch was enough to send chills of excitement up and down her spine, so if this didn't tick him off, he would most likely get just what he wanted. Doing things that made sense was not her strong suit...

"I have been called an optimist. But I have also been called a pessimist, though not as often." She sat up, reached over for his face and with little provocation, had him leaning across to kiss her. He was carrying her to her bed moments later.

"I do want you to understand, should Q appear right now or in the next...few hours...I will again decline to go with him." He looked so serious when he told her this that Harper had to laugh.

"I think that's one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me. I hope you feel that it would have been worth it...after." She had the fuzzy gray jumpsuit pj's on again and Data was unbuttoning it and kissing her. She slid her hand in between their bodies and unbuttoned his shirt once he had hers undone. She pushed it off his shoulders and tossed it on the floor. To her surprise, he didn't even bat an eye. He lifted her up and helped her out of her gray fuzzy, but a pounding on the door interrupted them...

Harper's alarm brought her half exploding out of the bathwater. Her arms and torso came up, out of the water, but the pounding and shouting, which she hadn't noticed before, did not cease.

"Harper!" Data cried in panic. "ANSWER ME!"

"I'm here!" she shouted, coming completely out of the water she grabbed her towel. The fear in his voice caused her to hurry all the more to the door to open it. Harper faced a horrified android. He grasped her shoulders firmly as soon as she had the door open.

"Why did you not answer me!" Data demanded, still in a frenzy.

"I...I fell asleep," she answered with trepidation. His face displayed a symphony of emotions. The prevailing instrument seemed to be playing terror.

"NO MORE BATHS!" Data dictated more firmly than she had ever heard from him before. He pulled her to him as though trying to reassure himself that she was indeed all right. Then, deciding that he was not done shouting at her, he pulled back slightly and continued.

"You must promise me Harper, no more baths. I will have the tubs removed from this house if necessary, but you will not take them from this day forward. Do you understand?" Harper was crying now. The reality of what could have happened was just hitting her. But she wasn't thinking clearly and this caused her to argue.

"I hate showers. There so boring and cold and-"

"Then I will take them with you to keep you warm." His voice was calmer now, but just as insistent.

"That doesn't sound very relaxing," she noted, raising an eyebrow at him and sniffing.

"It is not intended to be relaxing. You can relax in the bed at night...after we make love. That is where you should relax." He kissed her. "I will not lose you, Harper. I cannot lose...us. I love you."

The tears started again. "I love you too," she whispered and choked back sobs.

He carried her still wet and dripping body to the bed, laying her down with intent clearly written across his face.

"I'm still all wet," she complained.

"At this moment, that fact is not relevant." As he said this Data was removing his clothing. She watched with rapt attention. All gold and all stunningly beautiful, she thought. Hair was on his chest peppered between his pecks and on his arm and legs. He looked well muscled, but of course that was an illusion. He had strength, of course, but not muscles.

"Your father did a wonderful job in creating you," she told him as he came to lie beside her. "And you have added nicely to the package." She ran her fingers over the hairs on his chest. She was so enthralled with seeing all of him, that she almost didn't notice that he was opening her towel.

"I compliment your parents as well. But, as I have read that talking about one's parents is not conducive to what I intend to happen, I suggest we...discuss something else, or nothing at all." He drew her closer and began tracing kisses along her throat. All thought of talk evaporated. His gentle kisses felt so intoxicating, but she wanted to make up for frightening him. His erection was already pushing against her, so with a smile she reached down. One hand began caressing his penis and the other his chest.

He gave a sharp inhalation of breath when she began her caresses. "You were correct about switching my sexual response to automatic, Harper. It is much more...ah...pleasurable." Data sighed.

"I'm glad you still think so, as many times as that response has gone unanswered lately." She found his lips and kissed him deeply, until he moved her arms to her sides.

"I intend to see that nothing occurs to further delay...this." He ran a finger from her lips down... He gazed down her body, as though committing it to memory. His fingertips traced circles around the nipple of her left breast. Her respiration increased. Leaning closer, his tongue made light contact with the opposite nipple. Remembering the sensations he had experienced as she used her teeth lightly on his penis, he decided to use this method on her and observer her response.

Her gasp and quick sigh told him he had been successful in stimulating her. Her nipple hardened in response as well. He pulled back to see and was pleased, but now it was time for the other breast. Gently kneading the first, he traced kisses and his tongue around her left breast. He was intrigued by what followed. Harper gasped, arching her back in ecstasy and Data found this sent a wave of desire racing through him. Excited, he proceeded lower. He knew well just what would elicit an erotic response in this area.

Gently, he spread her legs apart and repositioned himself between them. Harper opened her eyes and watched until his tongue made contact with her clitoris. She moaned with delight and closed her eyes again as he watched her face. Her mouth opened and closed and her hips began to move. He found he also liked this response and quickened his oral stimulation of her clitoris and the surrounding areas. Each moan seemed deeper and longer. She had been clenching the blankets on either side of her, but she now reached down and slid her fingers through his hair.

Her breathing slowed. Her back arched more than it had prior and she gasped. Her breath caught. When she took another breath it was closer to a groan, but not of pain. Several small shutters ran through her before she relaxed slightly and began to giggle.

"Oh, stop," she pleaded weakly. Harper opened her eyes as the waves of her orgasms subsided. She held her arms out for him. He did not move from between her legs. "Please, Data. Please. I want to feel you inside me. Please. Now!" He had no desire to argue. Hovering above her, he moved his penis towards her vagina. Just the touch of the tip brushing against her sent another quake through her body. He found he was also gasping at the sensation.

But entering her was much, much better.

He closed his eyes and moaned as wave after wave of passionate desire flooded him. As soon as he entered her, she wrapped her legs around him, pulling him in closer and his length in deeper.

"Ohhh, ahhhh!" It took Data a moment to connect the fact that he had made that sound. He remembered he was supposed to pull back out and in again. It took a bit of convincing himself to even move. Harper tightened her vaginal muscles around him and Data sighed and moaned again. Kissing her fiercely, he began his thrusts. Her arms and legs gripped him as he plunged into her again and again.

This was nothing like Data ever experienced before. None of what he experienced with Harper was, but this...

Rational thought was beyond him and Data was alarmed for a nanosecond, but let the worry go in favor of the more pleasurable sensations. The build up he felt was almost too much to take. Cascade failure or something equally terrible should be threatening, but no warnings were sounding.

Harper was having another orgasm. Harper's gasps pushed Data over the edge and he let out an extremely low moan. His thrusts increased and he stopped kissing her just to be able to cry out. His whole body exploded in sensation. He had not consciously activated the release of his sexual secretions, but he could feel it escape him as he pumped it into Harper. He slowed his movement until the waves dissipated and were finally reduced to a level where rational thought was again possible.

Data did not remember feeling this drained before. Harper was smiling lovingly up at him. She was bathed in a glow of warmth. Her tangle of hair only seemed to make her more beautiful to him. Data was too heavy to relax his full weight on her, so he slowly left her body, with a final affected sigh, and rolled over beside her. She rolled on her side and snuggled up against him. He wrapped an arm around her and playfully caressed her bottom.

"Damn, but that was good," she sighed.

"Sure as hell was," he agreed and sighed contentedly. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her hands caressing his chest.

"What ya thinking about?" she asked lazily. He had heard this question before but last time his answer was not well received. He hoped this went better.

"I...am processing and analyzing the sensation and emotions I...just experienced as well as your responses to my actions." Data waited, worried, for her reaction. The little circles she was tracing on his chest did not discontinue.

"Mmmm, and how long will that take?" Harper asked, still totally relaxed. He sighed inwardly.

"It could take hours. But I will not be incapacitated for the duration. Should you require something, I-" her fingers brushed his lips.

"Analyze, sweet love. I think I will do some of the same. And maybe some mental replay as well...until you decide you need to study those sensations in further detail by...experiencing them again."

Data decided he liked it when she talked like this. It was close to teasing, but he knew she meant it kindly. Her apparent willingness to...make love a second time also had a pleasing affect on him. He smiled, happily and closed his eyes, continuing his analysis.

The analysis was an enjoyable process in this case. Making love with Harper was a far cry from any other intimate encounter Data had had in the past. The biggest difference being he loved her, the best being that she loved him in return.

The sensations were so intense...so wonderful and satisfying. Data found it difficult to analyze parts of the experience he had shared with Harper, without becoming, once again, aroused. He noticed, to his dismay, the arm that held Harper at his side was now caressing her gently and lovingly. Her breathing pattern changed. Data looked at her face in time to see her eyes open. She smiled up at him, reaching up to run a hand over his chest.

"You know, a good researcher will run an experiment more than once to check his results...Don't you think you need more research material?" She asked in a flirtatious voice. Data sighed happily as Harper brought her mouth to his.

It was a long while before Data was again able to continue his analysis, but by then, he had a lot more to process.


	10. Chapter 10 Will you be on my insurance?

Chapter Ten – Will you be on my insurance policy?

Their routine took a dramatic turn after that evening, but it was an agreeable turn for both of them. Data was invited to move his belongings into Harper's room and he wasted no time in honoring her request. He did not remain with her every night, but he at least woke her up himself each morning. When they returned home from work each night, she would eat dinner and Data would join her for a shower. This always led to lovemaking...always. Her second job rearranged some evenings. While her shower was delayed, it was never omitted and thus lovemaking was not omitted.

Harper turned in her two-week notice the Monday morning following Thanksgiving and Data realized that her last day would coincide with the premier date of 'Nemesis'. He was not looking forward to that, but knew he would have to see it.

Harper decided that in order to better prepare him, she would let him view 'Insurrection' and make him watch and relive the events of 'First Contact' in a way that even caused her some trepidation.

'Insurrection' gave him a little trouble, but he did not have nearly the reaction as when Harper spelled out what she had in mind for 'First Contact'.

"Just watch the movie and then I want us to...reenact the missing scenes and some of the prior ones, but I want you to say some of the things you were thinking...and feeling. I don't want you to hold back."

"If I do not hold back, I would hurt you, Harper. This is a dangerous suggestion." Data sounded upset and slightly angry.

"Then initiate safety protocols or whatever... but don't hold back your feelings or thoughts, just don't forget I'm not her and my frame is not made of the same stuff!" He grumbled a bit more, but finally agreed to Harper's plan. This conversation took place in the car on the way to her second job, Thursday evening, so they agreed to put this plan into action on Monday, after work. They would need time and she would need energy.

Once they arrived home on Monday, Data was sat in front of the TV with the tape and Harper pulled the car keys out of his hands and headed to the grocery store for a while. Data was given instructions to watch the pertinent parts and fast-forward through the rest. They would watch them again together when she returned. He looked ready to explode even before Harper left.

When Harper came back she found him standing facing a wall in the living room. The hated chair was in shreds all over the room and even the hall. Harper only took notice of the condition of the man facing the wall.

"Data, it's Harper. Turn around, sweetie." She was not sure she should touch him, but she wanted to. She lifted her hand slowly as she considered what she should do. He stood unmoving and silent. The TV was still on and the movie was running. Lily was arguing with Picard about blowing up the ship. Harper cut off the Captain's reply by shutting off the set.

Harper turned back to Data and just touched his back. He turned around so quickly that he knocked her arm out of the way. She was stunned and sure her arm would be bruised in the morning. But this was underway and she was not going to be able to stop it now.

"They were going to blow up the ship and kill me with it," he seethed.

"No, Picard goes back for you. He tells Lily that he must do all he can to save his friend...you."

"I was not worth saving. Hundreds of the crew were assimilated and I stood by and did nothing but comply with the wishes of the Queen." Data was berating himself, but Harper decided it was a good time to slip into the role of the very vamp he had just mentioned.

"Gaining the encryption codes is one of our goals, but to reach it, I am willing to help you reach one of yours. I can help you to feeeeelllll...more human, Data." Harper did not have the Queen's voice, bur her inflections were near...perfection. The exact wording was not her goal, getting him to hear her voice as the Queen's was.

"No. They cannot be forced from my neural net. It is highly unlikely that you will be able to break the code either." He was shaking his head as though trying not to hear.

"I don't want to force them from you, Data." Harper reached out to touch his face, caressing his cheek with an expression of confident power on her face. "You will give them to me willingly. Once you are properly...stimulated."

"NO! Not this time, you bitch!" He looked furious, but still had enough control so when he grabbed Harper and pushed her up against the wall he had been facing, she was only stunned.

"Resistance is futile." Harper purred, once she could breathe again. "We may not be able to assimilate you, but I know how to get what I want from you. Finding your weakness took seconds, Data. Like taking candy from a baby...or was it like offering candy to a baby." She brushed his hands from her arms and turned, walking away. Harper swayed her hips in her best imitation of the walk she had seen on the screen. She hoped he didn't see her trying to rub the circulation back into her arms.

"No, I will fight you. You will not win. You did not win!" He turned to watch her, seeing someone else. "I never intended to give you the codes. I fooled you."

"Did you? Is that what you tell yourself at night, Data?" Her voice was now filled with contempt. "Have you convinced yourself that you never wanted me? How predictable. Using easy and comfortable denial to explain away what really happened." Harper found that the words coming out of her mouth surprised not only Data, but herself as well. Was she getting too much into this role?

"It IS what happened. I...was-" he tried to defend, but he did not look like he fully believed this himself.

"YOU WERE TEMPTED BY THE FLESH!" She turned sharply and pointed at him, the accusation pushed him back two full steps.

"No, I...was just manipulating you. Allowing you to think that you had succeeded in blinding me. I needed you to believe so you would turn your back...for one moment!" His voice was trembling.

"You never asked me to turn my back, you asked me for more flesh. You wanted more of yours," she came closer and whispered the rest in his ear. "And you wanted more of mine!"

"I...was not...programmed..." He took hold of his head and closed his eyes, trying to fight off the confusion he had experienced. "To...process these sensations...I had never experienced those sensations..." He sunk to the floor. His eyes looked glassy and unfocused. His voice was softer, breaking.

"You had sex eight years and seven months ago. Wasn't she good, Data?" Harper knew this was dirty pool, and she did not want to dissect her sex life with him, but...

He sighed heavily, painfully. "She did not want it. She said she did, but after...it was not the same. I did not have an emotional frame of reference. You were the first. I hated you for being the first with whom I could...feel it."

"And I will be your last. Look and see your future's end..." She knelt beside him, taunting him.

"NO, you were not the last...I killed you. You are gone, destroyed. I am alive. I have grown and continued to evolve. I have defeated you. I won then and I will win now. You are a ghost." He grabbed for Harper's shoulders again. Pushing her to the floor he extended his body out, above her, resting his weight on his toes and one arm. He pinned her to the floor without any real contact, using his body to cage her.

"I can have you back. I-" Harper said, trying to regain her edge. But Data overran her words

"I will not be tempted by you again. I knew what you were missing. I know what it was that you could not offer. It is what I wanted. I did not want the flesh; it was the emotions I wanted. I have tasted this. Savored the nectar of passion and love. It was not within the Queen." His eyes focused and his gaze felt more penetrating than it ever had before. He lowered his body, pinning Harper with all of him. She could feel his erection straining for release.

He was turned on!

And he was still thinking of the Queen! She knew this was what the plan had been, but now that it was happening…she was afraid…and panicked.

Shifting his weight to his elbows, he brought his hands to the front of her clothes...and tore them off. His mouth was on her breast, but Harper was no longer sure she could go through with this. She didn't want to have sex with him if he still saw her as the Queen!

He gave her breast a last teasing lick and turned his attention to her mouth. He kissed her, but she was too terrified to respond.

He was going through with this...but she had told him to! What had she been thinking?

She had brought this on herself but...

He stopped the kiss and looked at her.

"I love you," he whispered, his eyes penetrating her.

Oh, my God, Harper thought. She could not hold back the burning bitter tears. She had never believed that Data loved that Borg bitch! It never occurred to her that it could have been possible.

"Tears? Why are you crying?" Data was confused. The Queen surely had never cried.

"I didn't know that you told her you loved her. I didn't know that you did. I- oh, God!"

"Her? The Queen? I did not tell her that I loved her, Harper. I was telling you that I love you. That is what she was missing. Love. She was not capable of love." He looked a bit remorseful. "I am sorry for ripping your clothing...I wanted to...feel you. I still do." He lowered himself back down kissed her again. Harper was still too stunned to answer his kisses. She was still trying to catch up.

She had not expected him to reason his way from the Queen to her. In hindsight it made sense, but she had simply not seen it coming. He had plenty of other reasons for realizing that he had not been so blame worthy. Perhaps that was not what had been bothering him after all.

He was looking down at her expectantly.

"I have upset you. You are frightened of me. I...did I hurt you?" Now he was near tears.

"No, Data. I'm fine. I was just...confused. You thought your way through that rather quickly and I'm just trying to catch up."

"Did I frighten you?"

"A little...but I think I was more frightened FOR you than OF you." She put her hands on his chest and tried to smile. "Are you all right?"

"I believe that I am. She is...fading. Her hold, that part of me that I could not wrangle from her grasp...it is no longer hers." He seemed startled as well by this revelation.

"I hope that part now belongs to you again, Data. No being should have control over another. Not even a captain is entitled to that." Data smiled and nodded his agreement. He sat up on his knees and tried to cover Harper, but her clothing was too shredded to hide much. He realized that now, she was not 'in the mood' for him. He experienced a long moment of fear that she would now be truly 'turned off' by him and may wish to end their physical relationship...but more importantly, she may not feel for him like she had.

Had he destroyed it? Destroyed this too?

"I am sorry I-" before he could finish she jumped to her feet and tossed her ruined clothing at him. He was too confused to speak.

"Dispose of those, would ya? I'll be right back." She stepped carefully around the chunks of what used to be the chair. Data slowly rose to a stand, feeling great shame. He had torn apart the chair, her clothing and perhaps even their relationship. He had frightened her. He had warned her that this could be dangerous. He should have heeded his own warnings!

Harper can back out in her robe to find him stuffing parts of the ripped up chair into a garbage bag. He wore a very solemn expression. She knelt down beside him and touched his arm lightly.

"You okay?" she asked. His eyes met hers, searchingly.

"I am experiencing much...remorse regarding my actions towards you. I frightened you and that was what I had hoped to avoid." Data was not sure if this would help, but he had to try to apologize. She sunk lower on the floor, moving closer to him. She slid her hand down his arm to his hand. She laced her fingers with his.

"It was a frightening experience for you, how could it not be for me? I knew you could see it through. I knew you could win. I'm proud of you. I knew this would work...so I got you a present." Harper told him, grinning with anticipation. He looked confused.

"You did? When?" Data asked, stunned by her capacity to stand by him.

"Well, I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, but it just never came together...but I think fate decided to intervene today. I'll be right back." She leaned closer, kissing his cheek quickly before heading down the stairs to the garage. He listened to her open and closed the side door to the van. Data remained, kneeling on the floor. The trash bag was in one hand, the remembrance of Harper's fingers in the other hand. He sat there confused and astounded that nothing about him repelled her.

"Data, stop cleaning and sit down on the couch," she called from the bottom of the stairs.

"If you wish," he answered, letting the bag drop from his fingers, still bemused.

He heard her climb the stairs slowly. He could tell that she was carrying something...

Harper came into his field of vision, holding a box 15 inches across on all sides. She wore a bright grin. She sat down in the couch, placing the box between them. Data was sure he heard the box...squeak.

"Open it!" she urged him eagerly. Uncertain, he lifted the flaps of the box. Once the last flap was pushed aside, he made a startling discovery.

There were two dark eyes looking at him from inside the box! And they belonged to a short eared, short tailed, black...puppy.

The puppy yelped and rose on its hind legs to get a better look at Data.

"I had been planning to get you a kitten, but...well like I said, I think fate had other ideas. They were selling these sweet little puppies in front of the store for 25$ and I just couldn't resist after a little envisioning." Harper admitted. Data lifted the puppy out of the box, a grin covering his face.

"Envisioning?" he asked while lifting the puppy closer to his face. The puppy licked his nose and Data laughed.

"Yes, just this," Harper replied softly.

Data lifted the puppy up enough to establish gender. She was a she. "Does she have a name?" He asked Harper as the pup squirmed and wiggled to get at Data's face again. He chuckled and submitted to the pup's will.

"Well, sort of. I was going to let you name her, but I kind of came up with one as soon as I held her. But if you want-"

"What is the name?" Data asked Harper, attempting to dodge a tongue. He could have easily done so, had he simply lowered the puppy from his face, somehow that thought did not occur to him. Data began to giggle.

After a laugh, Harper replied. "I think she looks like a Sadie."

Data focused on the puppy, grinning. "Do you think you look like a Sadie?" Just in time the puppy gave a bark. Harper was sure this was intended to reflect the puppy's desire to lick Data again, but the android took it as an agreement to his query. "Then Sadie it is," he proclaimed and smiled at Harper.

Harper put the box on the floor and scooted closer to Data. Reaching out, she gave the puppy some pats and found that she wanted to pat Data even more than the dog. But that could wait. He needed the wounds to close and heal.

"Welcome to the family, Sadie," she said softly. Data lowered the puppy to his lap and stared at Harper.

"You see us as a family?" he asked, uncertain. She too felt uncertain at his question.

"Well...yeah. I guess...don't you? If you think I'm trying to replace your real family...I mean Geordi and Deanna and all...I know I could never-"

"Harper, is it not possible to have more than one...family group?" Data asked, gently.

"Well, I guess...I have Melody and then there's mom and daddy and then Brinna...I also have Robin's family. I don't see them much, but I should get a card and a call for Christmas." She felt like she was babbling.

"And now?" Data asked. He lowered the puppy into the open box and returned his full attention to Harper.

"And now, I love you. And I know that I could never replace them, but I can't stand the thought of you leaving me. I guess I'm jealous of them." She looked a little ashamed of herself and regretful of being cornered into admitting such selfish feelings. The puppy began to yelp a protest.

Data felt a wave of relief wash over him when she affirmed that her feelings for him had not been shattered by the recent events. "I miss them, Harper. But if I was pulled back right now...I would miss you...very much! I like the idea of us being a family. I think I should tell you of a belief that has been...growing within me." He waited for a response from her.

"Okay you make it sound like you're pregnant, but I know that's not possible." She still looked sad and remorseful.

"No, I am not pregnant," he said with a grin. "When Q first arrived here that day...he told me that he could be more patient in his lessons with me. He referred to my not living forever, but said I was 'here for the duration'."

"Duration of what?" she asked.

"I asked that as well, he did not answer. But I have a growing suspicion as to the answer. I believe that it is possible that I am to remain here...for the rest of your life."

Harper looked shocked. "But why?"

"Because you love me...and I love you," he told her, but she shook her head.

"Q doesn't care about that, Data. He doesn't care a fig about who loves who anywhere or in any time."

"I agree. However, I suspect the lesson I am to learn is somehow related to, or affected by our relationship. He promised not to take me from you..."

"...And if I were dead..."

"I do not wish to think about that," Data said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. She smiled.

"My forever is going to be a lot shorter than your forever, Data. I know you never like hearing this phrase, but...what if you're wrong?" He gave her an incredulous expression. "Come on, in this case, it is possible!"

"Then consider this. I intend to stay until the day you wish me to go."

Sadie was a fine addition to the 'family'. Data even got down on the floor with her to play for over an hour that evening. Finally, he took her outside for her needs and gave her some puppy food that Harper had purchased at the store for her. Harper sneaked off for her shower, the first one she had taken without him...

The water was hitting her face as she replayed the conversations of the evening again in her head. The events and feelings also rolled over her. Since Data's appearance, Harper's life had turned into an emotional roller coaster. His dealings with the Borg, the blonde who was flirting with him...that still worried Harper at times... Her dealing with Robin's death, the attack at the mall and the trial. That had been odd since Data had to use another holo-disguise since the Slime had seen Jayden Soong. Data had chosen to look like an older version of Dr. Soong and Harper had found it difficult to be held by him.

Now there was the last day of work and leaving her friends there behind to be immediately followed by the movie. The last day of work worried her, but the movie made her stomach hurt. She had not told Data but in the last weeks she had read two interviews with Brent Spiner that had hinted that Data might indeed die in the movie.

What if the character's death had an immediate effect...physical effect on the Data who would be sitting beside her?

Harper tried to brace herself for the coming days. With her head resting against the wall of the shower as she sat on the bench in the large stall, she felt the saltwater mingle with fluoridated and run down her face.

Her head came up as she heard the door to the bathroom open. Data's silhouette could be seen through the frosted glass. He opened the door and shut it behind him. Without a word, the naked man of gold crossed to her and gently urged her to her feet. He was not erect at the moment, a rarity, but she doubted he would remain that way. His passionate kisses told her she was right.

"Thank you for Sadie. She is sleeping in the box now. Why did you not wait for me? I have no interest in missing this time together." He kisses her again before she could answer.

"I just wanted a moment. I need quiet time alone to think, unlike you who can think in a crisis." She tried to smile reassuringly. He tilted his head, considering.

"Is something troubling you, Harper. Do you feel that our relationship and our living together causes me to 'invade your personal space'?" He seemed to be thinking about moving away. She rested her head on his shoulder and allowed his body to keep most of the water from hitting her. She realized that this caused her to be cold and turned him around so the water would hit her.

"No, Data. You don't invade my space, even if you could be considered an invader from another place and time. It's just that I don't get much time alone. At home you're almost constantly with me if I'm awake. At work...I'm working. So even if I am alone I don't really have time to think. At the store it's the same, too many people for a quiet moment. I used to be alone all the time. It's just an adjustment to go from that to constantly being in someone's company." She lifted her chin and allowed him to kiss her again. She let the warmth of his mouth and the hunger of his passions to drive away the sadness. He was getting hard, but she did want to mention something before they made love...she looked in his eyes and decided it could wait.

Data worried about her melancholy eyes, he asked if she wanted to wait until later, but she shook her head. He smiled at her and reached for the soap...

Harper was squeaky-clean from head to toe...it was time to make her dirty again... Data rinsed the last traces of shampoo from their hair and pushing his own out of his face, he pulled her into a serious kiss. He felt released...freer than before to give more of himself to Harper. The grip that his trauma had retained on his emotions was waning. Harper avoided taking credit for what she had done, referring only to the work that Counselor Troi had done. But there were certain things that he could not have done with Counselor Troi...

Something about the way Harper kissed him always caused Data to want more. He found that he often recalled her description of how kissing someone would get old eventually since there was no longer any mystery. So far, he did not think this applied to how he felt about Harper.

"Harper? Do my kisses excite you?" Data asked her. She opened her eyes and looked at him. Her gaze was unfocused. Something he associated with her being taken over by desire.

"How can you ask that? Kissing you makes the tiny hairs all over my body stand up." She smiled at him and lifted just enough to reclaim his kiss. After several minutes of progressively intensifying kisses, Data bent his knees and reaching around from beneath Harper's bottom, he lifted her up.

"What are you doing?" She gasped. He had never done this before, but he hoped it would work. Theoretically it should, but Harper encompassed a realm of new experiences for him and what he wanted did not always pan out.

"I hope to initiate sexual contact...here." He walked with her two steps to press her back lightly against the shower wall for support. Lifting her up just enough and with the control most human males could not boast, he lowered her down while penetrating her.

"My dear Mr. Data, you are getting rather adventurous," she uttered, in a breathy voice. She wrapped her legs around him, linking her feet behind him.

"I am uncertain as to whether this will prove ill-advised, but if it works..." He gave a slight shrug and began slow, precise thrust while kissing her neck.

Several minutes later, the water began to run cool and then cold. Harper began to shiver, so Data reached over and turned off the water. He did not discontinue his penetrating thrusts, however, nor did she want him to.

She came twice before he threw back his head as his own orgasm took him. Harper opened her eyes to watch the affect these sensation had on him. The expressions that crossed his face, the sounds he made, the look of peace that took him over once it was over... She loved watching him. Loved that she was able to cause such a response in him.

Data grinned as he lowered her briefly to her feet only to pick her back up to carry her from the shower stall that was quickly growing cool.

"I will try not to be late next time. You are shivering again." He pulled one of the new larger towels that they had bought recently and wrapped her up in it. He attended to drying himself off and then retrieved the brush for her hair. She went and threw herself on their bed, still wrapped in the towel. She sighed contentedly as he put things to rights in the bathroom before joining her. From her side of the bed, he came over and lifted her back so he could slip in behind her. She let him brush her hair in his methodical way. There were never any surprises in how he executed this practice, but she still enjoyed it and was aware that it soothed him.

Or at least this usually did...

He placed the brush on her bedside table after running it through his own hair in three well-practiced strokes. He pulled her back into his arms and while kissing her, tried to rid her of her towel. She reached down and began stroking his once again erect penis with her hands. He moaned in response.

"You want to make love again, don't you?" she purred. Smiling reluctantly, he lowered her back to the bed. He moved to lie beside her.

"Would you be disturbed to learn that I have developed a sexual...appetite?" he asked her, worried. Harper looked stunned.

"Really? Why would that disturb me, Data?" she asked, grinning.

"I am surprise by this fact. I do not have the hormones that a human male has. I do have a desire to procreate, but sex will not help me to achieve that." He was thinking out loud.

"Especially not sex with me. Melody ended my baby-making career. And I doubt I would be much help in assisting you to build kids."

This distracted him. "If you could assist and it were possible in this time, would you?"

She sighed heavily. "Data, I don't consider myself brilliant, but I do catch on quickly. If you could explain the science behind the project to me in terms I could understand, I would probably get it, but that is a far cry from being able to 'work' with you. I can take many things apart and fix them, but helping you to create your progeny? That's out of my league, sweetie. I could help you pick a name!" She offered with a grin. He smiled and kissed her.

"Could you love an android child?" he asked, just wanting to know. She caressed his cheek with the back of her hand.

"I remember Lal too, sweetie. I cried when she died. As long as they never gave me a reason to fear for my life, I'm sure I could." Harper narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you planning a secret lab in our basement?" she asked pleasantly.

"I would require too much capital. It would require building the equipment I would need even before I could build the child. The chance that a new android would be discovered and thus my own identity would be given away makes it a poor plan." He stopped thinking out loud and looked into her eyes. He pushed a lock of hair from her face. He ran his fingers through the silken strands.

"You are still thinking about it. You made a wonderful father, Data. You should try again when Q takes you back," Harper encouraged him.

"I wish that I could take you back with me, marry you and have you help me create and raise many children. We could fill family quarters with children, like you planned to do with this house." He grinned at the thought. It took him a moment to notice that there were tears running down her face. "Why?" he asked, brushing away her tears.

"You just painted a picture that spoke to my domestic heart. I would love it if that came to pass, but it never will and you know it." She pressed herself closer to him, seeking his warmth.

"I do not know it. I do know that it would be unlike Q, but he is rarely predictable. Perhaps he would even allow us to bring Melody. Think of the opportunities she would have without the constraints of monetary need. We could see that she received the best education and was able to develop her mind fully. I cannot see her going into StarFleet, but she may find the medical path to her liking. I would not recommend the command path..." His voice trailed off as he mused further.

Harper began to laugh. "When did you become such a dreamer, my love?"

"It could be said that I have always been a dreamer. I have always wanted to be more human," he reminded her. He ran a finger down her neck, tickling her just enough to make her flinch. He ran his finger lower until he reached a breast.

"Sounds very human, what you just detailed. Wanting all the things that you listed. Looking for happily ever after. Funny, the man who is a fairytale come true, wants to live one," she mused.

"You think it is so unlikely? If I had met you, not here, but rather in my time, would you have consented to marry me and be the mother to my children?" Data turned some of his attention to stimulating her nipples. He enjoyed watching her physical response to his touch.

"I would have, but you would never have asked. I doubt that you and I would've met. After all this is all a Q contrived...fantasy." She sighed with pleasure. His manipulations were having an affect on her, but her comments were also affecting him.

He stopped, stunned.

"You do not believe this is really happening? I assure you, I am here. I have been living with you in your time for-" she kissed him.

"I know you're here, sweetie, but you're here because he brought you here. This was not your choice and you hated it here for a long time. Hell, I think you hated me at first. Given the choice, you wouldn't have come here and the only reason you are here in this bed with me is because it's easy and convenient. Oh, I don't mean to insinuate that you don't care for me. But I'm not so full of myself that I would believe for one moment that given the choice between a randomly selected group of 99 women plus me that you would ever pick me. There is nothing about me that stands out. Well, maybe for some people...I know that people tend to remember me. Customers do and even workers from some of the neighboring stores remember me the next time they see me, but I think that's because I talk too much. I just don't have enough to offer you. Not to be that memorable. I would never have attracted your attention."

Harper had talked herself into melancholy. She sat up and pulled away from him as though the fantasy was just too painful to live at the moment. Data was stunned. Was what Harper said true? Had Q set this up for Data to fall for Harper? And if Q had, was it a failure in Data or Harper that they had? Data had read stories of situations like this where two people stuck together fall in love, but Data had been given choices. He could have left when Q appeared. He could have gone out with Deborah, or Janet, or Sandra, Paula, Tralina, or even Jayla. He declined to tell Harper about any of the subsequent offers he received, since he did not wanted to upset her.

Perhaps that had been a mistake.

"You are mistaken," Data now told her. "You did attract me here and now. I did have other offers aside from Deborah. I turned them all down in favor of you. Not because you are convenient, but because of the feelings I knew were growing within me for you. You are not easy to deal with. I suspect that Deborah would have been a much less demanding lover, but I...I did not want her. I would not have been able to be...myself with her. I can be with you. I want to be with you. I want you to keep being difficult and trying. I need you to be just what you are."

He forestalled any argument with penetration. He pulled her to her knees and remained within her. Bending her back, he brought her breast to his mouth and sucked her nipples until each was erect. His thrust increased and gasping for breath, Harper came. Covering her mouth with his, he kissed her fiercely and came as well.

It had been fast, but intense.

Still on their knees and embracing, they stared into each other's eyes.

"Do you believe me, Harper? Do you believe that I will take you with me if I am allowed." He brushed stray hairs away from her face.

Harper sighed. "I want to believe you, Data. But I wouldn't have a place in your world."

"You would be very interesting to historians of my time."

She laughed. "Ha! You know more about my time now than I do. And I've always hated history. This whole conversation...or at least most of it is irrelevant. Q is not going to invite me for a ride to your time," she admonished. She scooted off the bed and went to find nightclothes. Data moved in her direction.

"But if it was offered? You would come with me? I would stay here with you, would you go there with me?" Harper turned and faced him, stunned.

"You aren't going to let go of this, are you?" she asked. He looked determined so she took his hands and smiled at him. "Whither thou goest, I will go," she said, quoting from Ruth. It only took Data a second to recognize the passage. He nodded his approval.

Sadie was just waking up when they returned to the living room. They were both dressed in pj's as Data bent to scoop the puppy out of the box and take her outside for a moment. Harper shook her head at his temporary departure.

"Insane man. Never gonna happen, but just had to hear it in case it does...something about toting a penis around must make men crazy." She muttered.

Sadie was scampering back onto the house shivering slightly. Harper went to get an old towel to warm her.

"Come here, baby, mama will warm you up." Harper cooed at the pup. Sadie wiggled happily in the depths of the toasty warm towel.

"Where will she sleep at night?" Data asked. He came to sit near the two females.

"We have to get her a little bed, but she can sleep in our room. You don't sleep through most nights, so you can take care of her when you get up." Sadie was warm now, so she leaped out of the towel and flopped awkwardly out of Harper's lap. Pretending nothing had happened, she walked across the floor, sniffing.

"What will we do tomorrow? I do not believe she will be safe by herself while we are at work."

Harper grinned at him. "I thought about that. Because I have been with my company for years and I have my own office. You remember, the one you're making me leave at the end of this week...Well Sadie can stay with me there. I just hope my replacement, Brandy, isn't allergic to dogs. I've been training her...Brandy, that is." Sadie was still sniffing around, but she started to howl a little too. "I think she's hungry, dad." Harper told him. Data looked amused at her last word, but said nothing.

He came back with two small bowls, one with water and the other with food. He placed them close to him and called Sadie over.

"Oh, I forgot, I called the floor people. They can be here Monday when I'm unemployed, to fix and replace the floor. You spoke to the insurance company, right?" Harper asked.

"Yes, I have the claim number and the information the women there faxed me. I will bring it home for you," Data assured her.

"Great, tired of a hole in the floor. Speaking of insurance, man who made me quit my job, I'm gonna have to write my HR guy a check for my medical insurance. Since this was your idea, I think you should be the one to find me new insurance, but extending what I have will give you some time." She playfully stuck out her tongue at him.

"How much will it cost?" he asked, poking her in the side with a finger. Giggling, Harper told him. Data looked alarmed. "That is seventy five percent increase in cost. Why?" he asked.

"Because I won't work there any more. Cheaper insurance is a work benefit. That's why yours is free, cause you work for a bigger company than I do...did...will, never mind." She asked shrugging.

"If you and I were related I could secure insurance for you at only seventeen percent of what you will now have to pay." Data reflected.

"But housemate isn't gonna impress them," she sighed, smiling. Harper yawned and patted his knee. "Want a glass of wine, sweetie?" she asked, rising.

"Yes, please." He rose to follow her. "Harper, we could become related. It would be logical. There are certain tax incentives for both single and married, but I think I will be able work it to be an advantage if we were married."

Harper closed the cabinet and headed for the refrigerator. Her expression made it clear that she was close to speechless. "Uh huh," she said, handing the glasses to him. She pulled the bottle out and pulled out the cork.

"We already have the same physical address and joint checking and savings account. You would be required to apply for a corrected Social Security card, unless you wished to retain Robin's name..."

"What would you prefer?" Harper asked, certain that she was losing her mind. She could not believe they were talking about this. Like this...

"I...would like you to...take...my name. Soong, that is." He looked hopeful. She still looked stunned. Absently, she handed him his glass of wine.

"Mrs. Jayden Soong?"

"Harper Soong. Mrs. Harper Leigh Soong," Data corrected.

"Because it's logical and practical?" she asked, softly. He nodded. "I think I should have taken you with me to the baby shower," she said, feeling like something was squeezing her airway.

"You admit that I was right, for once?" Data asked, feeling triumphant.

"I don't go around saying you're wrong!" Harper defended. "I think we should see if we can visit my family this weekend. Oh, shit...Nemesis!" Harper groaned, remembering that the movie came out this Friday.

"I may not be in the best frame of mind after seeing it, but I do not wish to procrastinate. Do you think your family will like me, Harper?" he asked.

She grinned. "As long as you don't tell them that you want to marry me for insurance purposes." She walked past him and back into the living room to check on Sadie. The pup was curled up on the towel, asleep again.

Data sighed inwardly. He had totally mishandled this. He wanted to marry Harper. Wanted it. But he had not thought she would agree. He hoped if he appealed to her logical side, she would acquiesce, but he failed to consider her emotional side. Data sat down on the couch, next to Harper and watched her for any signs as to how to rectify this situation.

Harper did not seem upset. But she did not seem happy either. Women were always excited when they were proposed to on the Enterprise. He had seen this time and time again. They were given to giddy laughter and blushing. They would be full of silly smiles for days.

"Harper, I love you," Data told her. She looked at him and smiled. It was almost a patronizing smile. She patted his knee.

"I love you, too. I guess I should call mom." She got up from the couch and crossed to the phone. Data sighed as she dialed her mother's number.

"Guess who?" Harper said when her mother answered.

"I have caller ID, so I know this is my long lost daughter. What, just find my phone number again?" her mother teased. Harper went back to the couch and sat next to Data.

"Well, I was forced to be in the same house with you for almost two whole days just a few weeks back, I had to recover."

"Ohhh, you're so mean! Did Mel come for Thanksgiving?" her mother asked.

"Yeah, almost burned the kitchen down, but she was here." Her mother gasped and asked for the details. Harper explained that Melody had been trying to fry bacon.

"Didn't we forbid her to use the kitchen years ago?"

"We should have. Mom, I called for a reason. I have something to tell you."

"Please tell me it's nothing bad, it's almost Christmas. No bad stuff at Christmas, okay?" Harper laughed.

"No, it's not bad. I just thought I should tell you about...Jayden. The man I've been seeing." Harper grinned at Data as she said this and leaned into him.

"Oh, my God. Really?" her mother gasped. "When did this happen? Recently? You said nothing of a man at the shower."

"It's been over three months, really. I know I should have said something. He wanted me to bring him and still won't forgive me for leaving him behind." Harper made eye contact with Data, who rolled his eyes and seemed to suddenly find something interesting on the ceiling.

"You're that serious? He wanted to come to a baby shower?"

"No, he just thought it would be a good opportunity to meet all of you. He has accused me of hiding him...so I'm trying to stop. I was hoping Jayden and I could come this weekend for a visit. It would give you and Daddy a chance to tell him all the bad stuff about me." Harper poked Data with a finger, and he was tempted to pin her to the floor and tickle her. He settled for ignoring her.

"Should I call your sister and tell her too? Or would that be too many people for him? Are you trying to scare him off, Harper?" Her mother sounded slightly confused.

"No, I don't want to do that. Call Brinna, if she and Brandon could come for dinner Saturday that would be great."

"When would you arrive, Harper?" her mother asked.

Harper held the phone away a little and put that question to Data. "If we packed Thursday, we could leave after work on Friday." Data told her.

"What about the movie?" Harper reminded him. Data looked at the little bundle that was now waking again across the floor.

"We will have Sadie with us. I would not wish to leave her unattended for the duration of the movie. She would soil the van," he cautioned. Harper thought a moment.

"Who's Sadie?" Harper's mother interjected. Almost as though she had heard her, Sadie got up and puppy bounded over to the couch, yipping.

"Can you hear her? She's our new baby. We just got her today. She's still very small so I hope you don't mind us bring her. I would have asked to stay at Brinna's but her dogs are too big they would scare or even hurt Sadie. Is it okay?"

"Just as long as she doesn't eat my cats. So when?"

"I may have to get back to you on that. Jayden and I really want to see the new Star Trek movie that comes out Friday, but Sadie adds a wrinkle to that. I'll call you back Wednesday to let you know for sure, okay?" Harper asked, picking Sadie up off the floor and rolling her over to scratch her tummy. Sadie looked like she was in heaven. Data just laughed at her.

"He has a nice laugh. Okay, call me Wednesday. Love you, honey."

"Love you, too. Madre," Harper said and hung up the phone. She turned to lie down with her head resting on the opposite arm of the couch. Sadie took this opportunity to lick Harper's face silly. Harper laughed and Data watched, slightly envious.

"Do you have something in mind for Friday and the movie? You had a particular look in your eye, Harper. What are you planning?" Data asked her, pulling his lover's feet into his lap.

"Well, if we went to the theater near work, I have a friend, Janet, who lives near there. She and her husband are homebodies and I doubt they would be going out. She has a little dog so Sadie wouldn't be too much, I hope. I could ask her tomorrow if she could puppy-sit for us during the movie and while we get a quick bite to eat...well, me anyway. Sadie, love, you are one big tongue! Go see daddy and give him a bath now." She giggled and pushed the puppy in Data's direction.

"Come here, girl. I will not cruelly reject you, like 'mommy'." Data picked her up and brought her to his face. He found that once again, he could not help but laugh as Sadie wiggled until she could lick his nose. He was surprised that he found this puppy so...charming. He had always considered himself a 'cat person' and Spot had been only too happy to agree.

"So, if your friend will puppy-sit, we will go see Nemesis and then I will drive us to your parent's house in Alabama, correct?" Data asked this between puppy-induced chuckles.

"Sounds good to me, and then you get to try to charm my folks only hours after seeing your doppelganger blow the ultimate fuse. Sound like fun?" Harper's sense of irony made Data nervous sometimes.

"Do they have any chairs they wish to replace?" he asked, innocently. She laughed.

"I'll be sure to ask," she told him, grinning. "I would like to see the reaction this chair gets from our garbage men. It looks like it was taken apart by a tornado. What part of the movie caused this?"

Data put Sadie in his lap and looked at Harper. "There were two items that resulted in the demise of the chair," he told her in all seriousness. "First, you having set the movie to begin with the Borg pulling me under the door to engineering. Second, were the images of my reaction to my emotion chip being activated and the Queen blowing on the patch of organic flesh that they had grafted to my exoskeleton." He looked upset and embarrassed.

"You know that you kind of look like that when we make love," she hesitantly informed him. "You kind of sound like that too."

Data expression became pained. "Does that disturb you?"

"You were not faking that reaction were you?" she asked, bypassing his question.

"No, I was unprepared for the sensations. I expected more signal degradation. There was an increase of sensory input information...an eighty two percent increase." He looked regretful.

Harper gasped. "Oh, my God. Eighty-two? Data, are...are you...faking it with me?" She could not imagine the eighteen percent that Data had, could feel even remotely interesting compared with what he lost. Harper felt her whole body go numb with shock.

"No, I am not simulating pleasure in our encounters. I believe the Queen caused the sensory input to be turned more sensitive than that of a human. Compared to what you can feel, my sense of touch is better in some ways, but...in this particular area the inability to feel, not detect, but feel heat or cold has an affect. I have done experiments to determine the difference in my touch sensitivity compared with humans. There is a thirty two percent discrepancy." Harper sighed sadly. She sat up when he told her how much more sensitive the Queen's skin had made him, but now she just wanted to...touch him.

Harper lifted the pup from his lap and replaced herself there. She wrapped her arms around Data for a consoling hug. "God, I wish I was Lessa. There are two ways she could help you to enjoy...touching more and all I can do is...write you happy." She felt overwhelmed with grief. She was so unworthy of him and so worthless to him. What could she possibly offer him that no other could?

"You do not need to 'write me happy', you make me happy. You want me for who I am. You do not reject what I am and you make extra allowances for what I am." He pointed to where the remains of the ruined chair sat. Fluff stuffed into garbage bags and the twisted and torn metal bundled and wrapped with twine, ready for disposal.

Harper stared at the recipient of Data's rage. She tried to envision him tearing the chair asunder, his face streaked with tears of shame and vehemence. She could see it clearly. Why didn't the image frighten her at all? His fury had not been directed at her, but she had stepped into the role of the intended recipient. She replayed the moment when he slammed her against the wall, knocking her breath from her body.

Why did this memory suddenly turn her on!

God, nothing Data did scared her...except for the thought of his leaving her.

You are as selfish as they come. All you care about is that he is here with you, no matter what.

No, even that was too strong...Harper knew she would do anything possible to help Data or make him happy. If she woke up tomorrow to find him crying from loneliness over missing his friends, Harper would have screamed for Q until she was unable to scream anymore.

Wasn't that why she was quitting her job? Why they now had a puppy? Why she took showers and why they were going to visit her family this weekend...to make him happy?

His kiss put an end to her thinking. Harper could never concentrate on anything else when Data kissed her...but could he?

"What were you thinking about before I kissed you?" Data asked her. Harper wondered if he was becoming a mind reader.

"You. I'm always thinking about you. I think the only time I'm not thinking about you is at work...is that why you're making me quit my job?" she teased, halfheartedly. She noticed that Sadie was sniffing around the fireplace.

"You were not intended to put that together. I must encompass your thoughts all hours of the day and you must dream only of me at night. Do you think that is asking too much?" he teased back.

"Just a tad. Actually, in my life I have only dreamt of you four times...well, three really. Once was really Spiner. That one was odd. He was hosting this telethon sort of thing and they were doing a live audition to fill a final role they needed for Nemesis. I was watching the thing on TV, but was just watching it because it was Star Trek related. Spiner was in a disguise and no one was supposed to know who he was...but I'm good at picking out voices."

"How was he disguised?" Data asked.

"That was the strange part," she put her hand over her mouth and giggled. "He was dressed like a giant, black feathered owl. It was a scream, but I knew who he was...so I called in and asked to speak to the owl. He was talking to people, so it wasn't a big deal. I told him I knew who he was and he wasn't very happy about that as he was disguising his voice too. I woke up right after his reaction to my disclosing to him who he was." She snickered more and blushed.

"What was his reaction?" Data asked confused as to why she would blush.

"He said 'damn it' under his breath, but he was miked. So, I would have gotten him into trouble...it was an odd and funny dream. The owl suit...that was a sight!" She laughed again, but it ended with a yawn. "Oops. I think it's bedtime for me. You and Sadie gonna stay up and play a bit more?" she asked him, rising from his lap. Data did not look happy that she was leaving.

"I believe Sadie is not yet ready for bed. I will see if I can tire her out and join you." His expression was sliding into a slight pout as he too stood. Harper came back and put her arms around his middle.

"I've gone to bed without you before, you know." She tilted her head to the side and looked up at him.

"Not often. Sadie is going to have an effect on our evening ritual," he grumbled.

"Like you've had an effect on mine. I went to bed alone Sunday, if I remember correctly," she reminded him. He expression was now defensive.

"The History Channel was running that special-"

"I know, I know...and the records from my time were incomplete by your time. Sucking up the information for the historians. You're going to be in debriefing for weeks once you do return to your time." She kissed him quickly and left him.


	11. Chapter 11 Nemesis

Chapter Eleven - Nemesis

Harper's office was not a relaxing place, the next day. Sadie seemed to get into everything. Harper found herself laughing at the pup at least as often as she was scolding her, though. Data called to check on his 'baby' at 11:45, so Harper was able to slip away with said baby at lunchtime.

Harper went with Janet to purchase a leash, a dog bed and feeding bowls for Sadie at a pet store that allowed the recipients of the items to be with you while you shopped. The leash confused Sadie. Harper was so afraid that she would get away from her and get hurt or killed by a car (not something Harper would have wanted to see for many reasons) that she felt it was needed and was relieved to now have it. Harper and Janet talked about Friday as they drove back to work with bags of fast food and even some special treats for baby Sadie.

Data was glad the drive from his office to Harper's was short. When the workday ended, he was ready to see her and begin his real day. He did enjoy his Earth job, but it was not as...fulfilling as his career in StarFleet. His life here was...almost nothing like his life had been on the Enterprise. He was not challenged here as much in the area of intelligence, but he was emotionally challenged constantly.

He got out of the van and headed for Harper's office. He wondered at her office door being closed. Data's knock was quickly answered by the one voice that could fill him with desire. He grinned at the sight of Sadie bounding away from the door as he opened it.

"Look Sadie, it's daddy!" Harper said in a high-pitched voice that was reserved for talking to children or young animals. Harper came out from behind her desk and grabbed the puppy off the floor. Cooing at her, she headed over to Data. "See baby, here's daddy."

Data felt aches in places that should not be aching as Harper moved close enough for him to wrap his arms around her. He wanted a kiss, but Sadie was now fighting to reach him.

"Were you a good girl today, Sadie?" he asked the pup as he took her from Harper. The puppy's reply was a lick on his face and a whimper.

"She was a good girl, mostly, but she did have one accident. And it had to be on papers I needed. I was forced to write a letter asking for a second copy." Harper grinned and tickled the puppy under her new collar.

"She has on a collar. There is also a..."

"Tag. It has her name and your name and address just in case she gets lost. I also bought her the other puppy trappings." Harper pointed at the bed, bowls and the leash she had bought during lunch. Data looked surprised.

"How did you get all of these things? I had the van today." Data asked her, as though that was not the normal state of affairs. Data believe he had to protect Harper from being in a car wreck by driving, as his ability to avoid an accident would be superior to hers. It was the same for the showers he took with her to keep her from drowning in the bath.

"We went with Janet. She agreed to puppy-sit, by the way. She needed some things for her little monster too, so she didn't mind. Sadie's not sure about her new bed, but she stopped being afraid of it about an hour ago." Harper reached over and caressed his cheek warmly.

Dog? What dog? The thought went through Data's mind, but he was holding the squirming puppy, so it would be difficult to convince anyone he had forgotten her.

But the look in Harper's eyes...

"I missed you," he confessed.

"It's only been nine hours," she reminded him.

"Nine hours, thirty two minutes and seventeen seconds...way too long." He leaned over the puppy and kissed Harper lightly on the lips. Surprisingly, Harper chose this moment to take hold of his face with both hands and tease him... with her tongue, she lightly traced his lips. He tried to touch his tongue to hers, but she grinned and pulled away slightly, only to move back and kiss him deeply after a wink.

"Does this office have a lock?" he asked, putting Sadie down and grabbing Harper around the waist. "I think we will need it after that." His expression was very serious not to mention determined.

"You've got to be teasing! Here? Now! Jayden, the floor? We can't, there are windows, people will see even with the blinds." She had her hands on his chest, halfheartedly trying to fight him off, but the scent of him always made her weak.

"You are the one who was teasing. I have been reading the books you have on your bookshelf. You have books from one author that could be considered...romance." His eyes were quite suggestive.

Harper's eyes went wide. "You have to be kidding me! You read those? You stop right there! The first one I read of hers was more suspense and action with some romance. I didn't even realize that she was considered a romance novelist until later. I found the first one on the bookshelf at work one day and I was bored!" She looked very defensive.

"You could not have been bored while reading them. They are...I believe the proper term would be...steamy."

Harper laughed, nervously. "I was...now you listen to me, Mister, we are not having sex here! I only have three more days to be employed here, don't get me fired!"

"Your lips says 'no, no' but your eyes say 'yes, yes," Data said in a sultry voice that shocked her.

"You have been watching too much TV! And how many of those books did you read and when did you read them!?" She looked aghast.

"All that was on that shelf, meaning every book that was there. There were six of that author's books and I read them Sunday while you were at work. I do have a question. There was a passage in one of those and in one of the fan fiction stories were the woman was held down, or physically restrained in some way, yet she is not disturbed. Rather, both characters found it to be sexually stimulating. Does this have any basis in reality?"

~ I should have just closed the blinds and let him have me, ~ she thought. ~ It would have been a hell of a lot easier than explaining this. ~

She sighed heavily. "I'm not sure I can explain this to you, and I really don't think it's something we should talk about here." Reluctantly, Harper pulled herself out of Data's arms and began picking up Sadie's new items. She handed them to a confused Data. He sighed and allowed her to load him down with stuff, but decided he would not allow her to sidetrack him later.

Once they were home, Data took Sadie outside and Harper made herself a light dinner of salad and bread. She ate alone while Data played with Sadie in the living room. Data had changed clothes, which was fortunate as the puppy climbed all over him. He was lying down on the floor as he had seen Harper do once yesterday. Sadie seemed to love this. Data knotted a torn piece of the ruined chair and was using it as a chew toy for her.

"I do not understand how you see this piece of fabric as a threat, but you do seem to enjoy your attempts to intimidate it. No Sadie, you must not bite me. You could hurt Harper if you bit her, so you must not believe you are allowed to bite either of us. Good girl, Sadie. That is good. Bite the fabric. Do you suppose the lady of the house will ever join us? Is she hiding from us, Sadie?"

"I am not hiding!" Harper called from the dinette.

"She does not want to talk to me about the question I asker her earlier. But I must speak to her about it, though it may require that you go to sleep while she answers."

"I now think I know the dangers of introducing the joys of sex to an inquisitive android!" she called, sounding impatient.

"Then this is a joy?" His question caused her to groan with frustration. She stomped to the sink and rinsed off her dishes. Once done, she stomped into the living room with her hand on her hips.

"Are you trying to drive me crazy or is this a new talent?" she asked, exasperated.

"I believe that we had agreed that both of us were already...off kilter. Why would wanting to know more about the actions I described drive you crazy?" he asked innocently...sort of.

"You are not fooling me. You know this turned them on. What was the fan fiction you were thinking of? As I know which of the novels you are referring to." Harper moved into the room and Data came to his feet. Sadie looked disappointed.

"It involved 'Data' after Lore had kidnapped and used the chip on 'him'. I was not having sexual dreams at this time, but the writer of this story thought I was."

"I know the one you're talking about. I...I rather liked that one."

"It was-" he sounded shocked, but she interrupted anyway.

"-Hot!" she finished for him. "The thought of being forced into sex does not appeal to me, Data. But that is not what happens if you role-play and one partner is playing the dominant role. No pain, no crossing over lines that have been agreed upon before hand, and you stop if someone is uncomfortable. What about that sounds bad?" She could not believe she was doing this, but she walked around him with a suggestive expression on her face. She added a little sway to her walk and touched him with a finger on his chest, just once in a while.

"I cannot say any of it sounds...bad, however, I still am not certain I understand the difference between this and...forcing sex or rape?" Data really was confused now.

"Do you want to rape me, Data?" she asked evenly.

"NO!" he answered, sharply. "My ethical routines would not allow me to force myself on you, or any female." He sounded appalled. She nodded her agreement.

"But would you want to have sex with me right now?" she asked. "No waiting until after my shower, no worrying about Sadie or anything else...just taking what you want." Her tone was very suggestive. He was stunned.

"How is that not rape?" He seemed close to overload or something.

"Because I would be agreeing with it," she whispered in his ear. "Remember when you stayed in my room when Melody was here and you were having an erotic dream? I took advantage of that fact. I sort of forced you, but I was certain that I had your approval. Was it wrong, what I did to you that morning?" Data's breath caught at the remembered sensations of that morning. He had wanted her so intensely. Needed to feel her...kiss her...touch her...hear her tell him that she loved him. He needed this now too. He felt the rush of desire take him. He reached for her, but hesitated. Data's ethical program was rearing it objecting head.

"Take me," she whispered. His ethical program suddenly ceased its objections. He grabbed her and pressed her body to his. How did she do this to him? She had such an unexplainable affect on him. He did not need sex. Why was it that it seemed as though he did when she was around? His kisses were hungry. He wanted to lower her to the floor, but snippets of their conversation yesterday and some this morning ran through his head.

Harper still believed that he wanted to marry her because of the insurance. He had to dissuade her of this notion. He pulled back from her.

"No, I am not proceeding with this correctly. I have read and heard of numerous marriage proposals and none of them were for exclusively logical reasons. I believed that you would not accept my proposal if I did not have a practical reason to support it, but I see now that I was mistaken. It seems since arriving here I have had more emotional situations to deal with than before. My success rate so far is low." Data caressed her cheek, running his hand back into her hair.

"I wish to become related to you due to my feelings for you. You mentioned thinking of us as a family, I wish for us to officially be one. Love is my motivation, Harper, not our finances." Harper smiled a pleased, but also knowing smile.

"I knew that, but it was good to hear you say it."

Data let out a sigh of release. She always seemed to be one step ahead of him, but she never made him feel inadequate. She just made him feel...human.

"I believe I am to formally request your hand. But your family should approve of me first. I will ask you again, once I have secured their acceptance." Data almost sounded as though he was bragging that he would easily gain her family's okay but he could be in for a surprise.

He kissed her again, but this time his kiss was more tender and gentle. Sadie found that 'mommy' and 'daddy' wanted little to do with her for a while and her instincts told her that she should not disturb them.

Later that evening, Harper called her mother back to verify that she, Jayden and Sadie would be arriving after midnight on Friday. Data and Sadie were watching TV, so Harper decided to play around on the Internet for a while. Her curiosity about the movie and whether Brent Spiner had been able to write Data out of the story was getting to her.

She had to know for sure.

It took some searching, but she found a new interview with Spiner that revealed it all.

Data dies!

Even though "her Data" was roughhousing with Sadie just five yards away from her, she covered her face with her hand. She fought back tears, because Data, her Data, would be alerted and want to know what was wrong.

Did he already know? Had he wanted to know?

Should she tell him?

Her head was hurting. Her fears that they would go to the theater together, but she would leave alone engulfed her again. The closer the day came, the more she thought about it. This was the first time in her life she was NOT looking forward to seeing something that involved Star Trek.

"Harper? Are you ill?" Data still had Sadie in his arms, but he was moving towards her. Fortunately she had already backed out of the interview, but was still on the board where it was posted.

"No, I'm not sick. I just have a headache."

He put Sadie down. "Can I get you some medication?" he asked, coming to her side. He was so sweet and thoughtful. So alive.

"No sweetie, I'm...fine." Her voice broke, but she tried to make it look like she was congested and just coughed.

"Are you aware there is a full disclosure interview with Spiner on this site, Harper?" he asked, indicating the screen of the computer. With clouding eyes, she nodded. "We knew it was what he wanted to do. He assisted in writing the script. He was bound to get his wish to see to his character's demise." He did not sound happy, but close to resolute.

"Why!? Why couldn't he just stop playing you? He didn't have to kill you off!" She burst into tears and stood to cling to Data.

"He is not necessarily me, Harper. The interview does state that 'Data' dies to save the Captain." He sounded like this was acceptable.

"Forgive me, love, but Picard is an old man who is past his prime. He had done his service to the universe, his time is over but yours is just beginning. First officer and then a captain yourself. There is no limit to what you could have done! If Spiner had just said, "Okay last movie, I'm done." It would have been fine. He's even saying that he could come back for the next movie to play B-4. What kind of sense does that make? He doesn't want to play an android who is supposed to be strong and young looking, but he will come back to play his twin like brother who looks just like Data? That's bull shit!" She was ranting and he could see that she was close to screaming.

"Perhaps we should not see the movie," he suggested.

Harper looked as though he had slapped her. If seeing this movie could cause Data's erasure from this timeline, she doubted her presence would affect it one way or another. She had to go with him and she knew he would go...sooner or later, he would go.

"No, I want to see it. I may not release your hand throughout the whole thing, and perhaps for days afterwards, but I think we should see it...together!" She said this firmly, but her voice was still threatening to break. He wrapped her up in his arms.

"Why is it that this is my demise, yet you are more upset that I?" he asked gently.

"We have switched around and you are now more crazy than I am. Sorry about what I said about Picard...I know you would give your life for him and he you, but I just happen to be in love with you so my views on this are very slanted."

Data chuckled. "I know." He pulled her closer to hug her. "If you met him you may not believe that the captain was past his prime. He has an indomitable will," Data added. Harper chuckled.

"Yeah, but Will's not going to be there anymore since he's getting promoted, so that won't help," she teased.

Data looked down at her and shook his head. "Tomorrow, we should go to the bookstore and find you a joke book," he chided back.

"Yeah, yeah, I need new jokes..."

As it turned out, they did end up in the bookstore. Friday they took Sadie to Janet's house and headed for the theater to buy the tickets. The movie was not set to begin for an hour and a half, so they went to get Harper something to eat. She was finished quickly with two tacos, so they headed for the book, music and movie store.

Harper was shocked to see the novel for the movie was already out. Data picked up some of the other novels and...read them.

"This never happened...nor did this...something like this happened, but the names, dates and circumstances were just slightly-"

"Lee!" Harper exclaimed, softly. She didn't want to use his 'given' or 'assumed' name since both of those would or could be recognized...there was a fan nearby. Harper came over to Data's side, with the book in her arms.

"You two going to see it?" The fan, a young man, about twenty-one, with dark hair and glasses, asked. He had a sharp eye and a nice smile, Harper noted.

"Nemesis? Yes, in twenty-

"We are going to the next showing. You?" She glanced at Data, giving him a look that left no doubt that he had to stop reciting the exact time. Data just stared at the book in her arms.

"Been thinking of nothing else for weeks. You're getting the book too, huh? Hope it's faithful. Some of them have taken liberties and others are just word for word rehashes." The fan had one of the novels that Harper had already read in his hand. Harper wrinkled her nose, unconsciously...she had hated the book, but she would not mention this to the guy. He might just like it...none of her business...

"I get them for clarity. If there is a line I don't remember, I have the book."

"You now have me, though," Data reminded her. She grinned.

"Yes, I guess that between the two of us, we should remember the whole movie." Her expression cautioned him against correcting her, but Data just rolled his eyes and tried to tug the Nemesis novel out of her arms.

"May I see the novel, please?" He asked politely.

"Not a chance. You'll read it," Harper admonished. He looked confused.

"Is that not the point of having it?" he asked. The fan grinned.

"Yes, but you will read it all right here. You are not going to read it just minutes before we see the movie!" Data furrowed his brow at her. The fan looked puzzled.

"He can read that fast, or do you mean skim?"

Harper shrugged. "He took a speed-reading course. He was top of the class. He can read a book in...minutes." She was insulting Data. He looked right at her and looked quite put out. She just sighed.

"Can I have the book?" Data asked again.

"No! Now is there anything you want to buy or are you just going to read everything here and lower this fine store's profit margin?" she teased. Data grinned.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look like Brent Spiner? Or Mr. Data?" the fan asked...Data. Harper made an effort to not react to the guy's question. She exchanged a quick glance with the android beside her.

"My friend, Harper, noticed that when we first met. However, I am not Brent Spiner. There have been reports that he had one goal in mind in his assistance in creating this movie. My goal would not have been the same." Data said, factually.

"I should say not!" Harper echoed vehemently.

"So, then you heard the rumors about Data's..." Both Data and Harper were nodding. "Death," the fan finished. "I'm Charles, by the way," he told them. Both of them had been named, so they did not offer their names again.

"I'm still really upset by the news, but he heard that 'Data' saves the captain and thinks that makes it okay. I'm not sure I agree. Have to see it first." Harper looked from Charles to Data and back.

"I know what you mean, Harper. Data's my favorite character. He rocked in 'First Contact'! The 'resistance is futile' line when he's about to break the coolant open was so cool! Well, almost time. Hope you guys enjoy the movie. Nice meeting you, bye." Charles waved and headed for the checkout counter with his book.

"You need to change your hairstyle, love. He was right. You look too much like...Data." Harper grinned up at him; Data just stared back at her. He leaned close to her ear.

"There is a very good reason for that," he said grinning.

"Yes, but you and I are the only ones who are supposed to know that," she scolded.

"And Melody," he added.

"Stop evading the issue. You look too much like a very beloved fictional character," she said exasperated.

"Fictional?"

They sat in the back of the theater. Charles saw them and waved from the middle of the theater. The lights soon went out and the previews began. Data was confused about these, as this was his first time in a theater.

The film finally began. It was...dark.

The wedding reception part was interesting, but the 'Data' on the screen seemed...unmoved.

B-4's discovery was fun, but the line 'I feel nothing...' delivered by Data regarding the other android being given all of Data's memories, gave two people in the back of the theater...pause.

Data's loss at the near end of the movie caused Harper to need tissues. Her companion handed them to her and put his arm around her shoulder. He whispered consoling words in her ear, but for some reason, his reassurances that 'he' was still here, did not lessen her tears.

During the brief gathering in Data's honor, Riker spoke of his first meeting with the android and the tune that Data had been whistling. Will could not remember the tune...but like many others in the theater, Harper could.

"Pop goes the weasel," she muttered.

"Correct. I am still unable to do the tune justice," Data whispered back.

The film ended and Harper jumped to her feet. Data was hard pressed to keep up with her race from the theater without pushing people aside. He did have to ask the pardon of many that he made his way past, though. He did not catch Harper until she was almost at the exit. He pushed open the door for her and took her hand to lead her to the van. Once he had opened the car door for his housemate, he pulled her to him. Harper sobbed against him.

"How could Geordi just let him go? Why was Data so reserved for the whole movie? What was that line about feeling nothing about? I have never seen the crowd so quiet at the end of a Star Trek movie and I have seen them all in the theater." She was close to hysterical. Data helped her into her seat. He closed the door and got in on the driver's side.

"I find it surprising that you had time to even notice the crowd's reaction. You left very quickly. Geordi took the actions he was ordered to take. I am his superior officer, Harper."

"But 'Data' was defying orders!" she argued.

"True, but he would still have to follow my orders." Since Data could talk and debate this with her and drive, he headed the car towards Janet's house to retrieve Sadie. "Will the book have the movie retold word for word or will there be differences?" Data asked her.

"Should be some differences. Some of the scenes that they deleted should be there, why?" She asked him.

"Please hand me the book. I am hopeful that it will explain some of our questions." During the next red light, Data read the book. He looked stunned and Harper asked why. Data handed her to book.

"Page 59. Open the book and read from "No, I do not mind." and read from there to the next page." Data instructed her.

"It says, "No, I don't mind." And it's supposed to be you saying it," Harper noted.

"I assume that is what is called a typo." Data did not smile at this. The vibes she was getting from him told her that he was decidedly unhappy. She read.

"What the Hell! The chip is ruined? But...it was mentioned in 'Insurrection'." Harper had just read a part of the book that stated that Data's emotion chip had been overloaded and destroyed by the Borg Queen sending more sensation than it could handle to Data.

Data glanced over at her. "I think we just found a significant difference in the timelines Harper. The chip is still in my head. I have emotions and I have mapped out what my father did to create it. If it were destroyed, Geordi and I could indeed recreate it. Once I decided that I wanted to keep the chip and continue using it, Geordi and I felt it was necessary to take steps to ensure that we understood it should another problem arise. We found the chip was intended to fuse to my neural net to prevent removal. We found out how to remove it, but I rarely turn it off. I believe...and Counselor Troi concurs, that my growth as an emotional being requires that I experience them."

Harper stared at the words on the pages of the book. "I can't believe they would even want to do this. Gene Roddenberry would have never wanted to steal Data's emotions from him once he was given them. This is...I can't...This is just wrong. The chip was mentioned in the last movie."

"Yes, I remember. The captain asked Geordi if the chip could be the cause of my malfunction and Geordi informed him that I have not brought it with me. This is also unlikely. Why would I partake of a mission and not even bring my chip with me? From what I understood of the originally assigned mission, emotions would not interfere. If emotions hampered certain efforts, I could have simply deactivated it. Leaving it behind serves no logical purpose." Data sounded like he was straining to make sense out of all of this. Harper could sympathize.

They arrived at Janet's house and collected Sadie, who was quite pleased to see them. Data spoke sweetly to the puppy and took her out for a quick visit before they began the journey to Harper's parent's house. Harper thanked Janet and hugged her a final good-bye.

"We'll miss you at work on Monday," Janet told her, sadness creeping into the woman's voice.

"I'll miss all of you too, but the rest will be good. Thanks again for watching Sadie."

"No problem. If you two want to go out again and need me, just call." The two women hugged and Harper left.

Several of this day's events were depressing her. The movie, the new revelation about Data's emotion chip, and her last day at work. This had been an emotional day and it wasn't over yet even if it was almost 11:00.

Once Sadie was safely in her travel cage, Data and Harper belted in and the trip began. Data handed his new cellular phone to her so she could inform her mother that they were on their way. Harper hated cell phones, but it was his money too...hell now most of it was going to be his...

The call completed, Harper relaxed into her seat looking like she was pondering...or brooding over the day. Thursday she had emptied her office so they would not take unneeded items with them to Alabama. The only things she had taken today were a few pens and a picture. The picture was of Jayden Soong. Harper had taken it a month ago. Data had been sitting on the couch when she came up to him with her camera and told him to activate his holo-disguise. He was wearing black jeans and a black silk shirt that Harper bought for him on her way home from work one day. Data was confused when she got the picture developed and then framed. He had no idea how she had taken it to work without his knowing, but he saw it on the corner of her desk one day when he had come to take her home.

He had paused at the sight of his framed image. He had looked at it when she picked up the picture at the store, but had not thought about what he had seen. In the picture, he was of course looking at Harper...and he looked happy.

"Okay sexy man, I want you to smile pretty for the camera for me. Show me those nice white teeth and those nice fake eyes. Too bad I can't take a picture of those eyes of sunshine, but that would cause too many questions." She had snapped the picture and he had been thinking of asking her about her comment, but he had not been given the opportunity.

"Harper," Data said now. "What is your opinion of my eye colour? Is it aesthetically displeasing?" he asked. She looked into his blue eyes.

"No, Blue is fine. I have blue...well gray, but they look blue if I wear something blue."

"No, you misunderstand. I was referring to my eyes, not Jayden's eyes."

Harper smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes...oddly. "I love you, Data. From the top of your overly perfect styled hair to your golden toes. Your eyes are part of you and I love them...the yellow ones, just fine. Why?" she asked. She sounded distant, even while telling him that she loved him, she sounded faraway.

"Overly perfect styled hair? You would prefer...messy?" he asked, confused and concerned.

"No, but a part on the side or even in the middle would not cause you to suffer from systems failure. I just think you need to work on Jayden looking less like Data. Why did they have to kill him? This truly does not make any sense to me. Sorry, changed the subject. I think I'm stuck in a feedback loop or something." She looked away from him and stared straight out the front windshield.

"I am not able to explain why the script for the movie was written as it was, other than to state that the authors felt it was a good story. I can agree in certain areas, but I do object to the assumed destruction of my chip before my own destruction-"

"Death." Harper corrected.

"I am a machine, the word-"

"I know damn well just what you are and I repeat-Death! You are a self-aware, growing, evolving mostly inorganic life-form. You are alive now. If you were not, that would be dead." She was angry. He was not sure if she was angry with him or still affected by the events in the movie.

He decided that he would let the matter go. If it made her feel better to hear dead instead of destroyed, it was a small compromise.

"Very well, then I remind you, Harper, I am not dead and I will meet your family with the exception of Melody, for the first time this weekend. Is there anything I should know to prepare for this meeting?" He hoped this would distract her. She was silent for a moment, thinking.

"Daddy loves trains. Mom loves cats. You and she have that in common. They both love Star Trek, but I love it more than them. Daddy introduced me to it, but I went further than he expected."

"I would not disagree with that assessment," he teased, affectionately.

She sighed. "Brinna and Brandon are not fans. Brin thinks I wasted my time even watching it. My writing had her completely disgusted with me." She still did not look at him and her voice was lacking her usual spark.

"I wish that you would continue your writing at times. I know you are tempted to work on them." He looked over at her, but she just shook her head.

"With you looking over my shoulder? Not a chance." She stated flatly.

"I could watch TV in the bedroom. Or take Sadie for a walk. I have been thinking of purchasing the supplies in order to resume my painting. I could give you some privacy so we are not 'attached at the hip' continually." He looked over and finally she returned his gaze.

"I'll think about it, Data. But since I'll be home alone more now, I may just work on them while you're at work and out of my hair." She tried a teasing smile, but she still missed the mark.

She slept for over two hours off and on during the trip. Data kept quiet and let her, since he was worried about her. Even in her dozing, she woke up regularly. Her sleep was plagued with upsetting dreams she told him once she gave up her quest for rest. They stopped to let her stretch her legs and give Sadie a break as well. Data tried to talk her into stopping somewhere for food, but she refused. She had not eaten her dinner well and this just added to Data's apprehension.

She remained silent for the remainder of the trip. Data worried in uncomfortable stillness.

The Ista household, home to Harper's parents, was dark when they arrived. Harper had a key, so she unlocked the door while Data saw to Sadie and tried to keep her from barking. Harper's mother was waiting for her in a recliner in the living room when she entered the house. The older woman woke and lifted her head.

"Good, you made it. Where's this mystery man of yours?" Marie Ista asked as her daughter came across the floor to hug her mother.

"He's outside, walking the puppy. You could have gone to bed, Madre." Harper hugged her and took in the familiar scent of home and her mother.

"I had to make sure you guys got here, didn't I? Turn on the light in the corner. I want to see this man when he comes in." Harper sighed, but moved to follow her mothers order.

Data came in the house seconds later. He was whispering words of praise to Sadie.

"You were a very good girl. You are a sweet girl, yes you are." He cooed over the puppy until he noticed that he was the center of attention. "Mrs. Ista, I assume?" he said, looking up.

"You got it. Jayden what was your last name again...tired," Harper's mother asked as he came into the room, still holding the puppy.

"Soong. I thank you for inviting me to stay in your home, Mrs. Ista. I hope the short notice caused you no inconvenience. I see that our late arrival has. I apologize."

Marie looked from him to Harper. "Is he always this formal?" she asked.

"Mostly. He will loosen up in a year or two, I hope. What room do we get?" She asked changing the subject.

"You get yours. He sharing?" her mother asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes, he is." She turned her attention to Data. "Let mom have Sadie, Jayden. We can bring in our things and then we can all go to bed. I'm wiped!" Data nodded and handed the puppy to her mother.

"Be a good girl, Sadie," he cautioned his pet before smiling sweetly at her and handing her down to Marie.

Marie found herself grinning at this exchange.

Harper's old room in her parent's house was larger than the one they had at home. The bed was a queen size, smaller then the one at home. Data liked the idea that this would mean less room for her to roll away from him at night. It had been hours since he had kissed her and suddenly he longed for one, but now was not the time.

They finished unloading the car, including bringing Sadie's travel cage to their room. The couple returned to the living room to find Sadie checking out the room and Marie watching her.

"She's a sweet little thing. Well, let's get some sleep. We can catch up in the morning when Daddy's up to hear too. Glad you got here safely. I look forward to getting to know you tomorrow, Jayden. Good night." The older woman nodded to them both and left the room.

In their room, Data and Harper pulled nightclothes out of bags and dressed for bed. Harper finally joined him in the bed and he could not suppress the need to kiss her any longer. He greeted her with hungry kisses. Kisses that spoke of need and desire. Love and passion. At first she seemed to respond, but all at once, she stopped him.

"I'm really tired, love. I can't tonight. I have to sleep." The sadness that had been in her eyes since the character of Data had leaped from the Enterprise to the Reman ship, sealing his fate, stared back at him. A thought occurred to him...she was mourning again. But this time she was mourning him.

He loosened his hold on her and she rolled over to face away from him. He wanted to again assure her that he was alive and here, but she knew this. Repeating it was futile. He wanted to hold her, but as his sexual response was still on automatic, he was reluctant to do so. He rolled on to his back. Sadie had been displaced by Harper's move, so she padded over to her master. The pup came to rest at his side, between them and went back to sleep with a puppy yawn.

Data analyzed his feelings about the movie with the additional information in the book overlaid in his mind. He thought of the exchanges that he had seen between his doppelganger and his friends' doubles. The moments between 'Data' and B-4 had also been interesting, yet impossible. The three prototype androids that had come before himself and Lore had never been even that functional. Data had spoken to his 'mother' extensively regarding her recollections on this subject. He felt that the information of what went wrong for his father would help Data avoid the same failure in the future. While Noonien Soong had not fully explained the failures to his wife, Juliana understood enough to make it clear to her son that the three prototypes had suffered failures that would make it impossible to even turn them on again...Just like his daughter Lal. They were gone, non-functional, as Harper would say...dead.

The scenes that followed the explosion of the Scimitar replayed in his brain. His friends reactions to 'his' loss...he wondered if they were really experiencing these feelings in his timeline. He had not exploded in a blaze of glory, but he was gone. Was time moving on for them? Moving on without him? He had no way of knowing. He glanced over at the still woman beside him. He knew that she was not sleeping, but was trying to convince him that she was. He knew that she was mourning his character's loss even thought she had the real thing. It must be confusing for her.

Harper had been emotionally invested with his character for many years. Had written stories that...

That had to be a big part of this, Data realized. Her stories. How could she reconcile the character's death in her stories? If she followed the pattern of mourning, she would most likely deny the happenings in the movie. Data could not argue with this reasoning, since he intended to see that he used the foreknowledge of the events that took place in Nemesis to prevent as much as he could from happening. While some of the losses may be needed to better relations with the Romulan Empire and the Federation, he thought it would be possible to reduce the losses on the Enterprise and prevent his own loss. If it came down that it was not possible, Data would indeed give his life to protect his friends and the ship, but surely he could make sure that Geordi constructed two to the ETUs...

The book had hinted that Data was capable of emotion without his chip. This had been the only part of the book that had been shocking to him. Harper was struggling to deal with a death, but Data was startled by his reaction to something that he had always considered impossible. But there had been fan fiction that also had gone in this direction. Data felt that it was something that he should explore for himself. Emotions without his chip. The structure of his brain supported growth, of course, and emotional growth was something he was still working on. This was perhaps something that he would be working on for the rest of his live...no matter how long or short. But knowing what the chip did and how it allowed him to...feel, was it possible to bypass the chip and still feel? Could his brain develop the connections that enabled emotional responses, were the neural nets reforming...reshaping him into a being that was able to feel more like a human could feel? Would it one day become an innate ability and not just impulses that came from a tiny chip in his brain? Thinking over the problem and turning hundreds of theories and facts over in his mind, Data realized that yes, it was possible, perhaps even...likely!

The corners of his mouth slowly crept upwards. He could not see it, but his eyes were also full of excitement and unexpected pleasure. He was going to have to begin experimentation in line with this hypothesis. Perhaps not this weekend, but soon. He reached over and gave Sadie a pat. She whimpered. She was dreaming, yet Harper was still awake.

Data rolled over carefully. He resettled his puppy against him, staring past her towards the woman whose shoulder the moonlight illuminated.

"You are not sleeping, Harper," he said, softly. He had often been teased about his predilection for stating the incredibly obvious. Even the Worf character had teased the Data character in the movie about this. But it was a good way to let her know she was not fooling him.

"Keep seeing the explosion. Geordi's face as you began to run. They're going to bring you back as B-4, and I don't like that idea." She rolled over to face him. Even in the dark, he knew her expression was grim. He reached over and ran a finger down her cheek.

"In the Star Trek timeline of this world, that seems likely. That bothers you. Why?"

"He is not you," she said with conviction. "I think it is an insult to believe that he could ever become you. Even the Data in the movie said as much. Shinzon was not Picard and B-4 is not Data, even with all of his memories." Data pulled her closer until she had her head resting on his chest. Sadie nestled tightly between them.

"I have all the events of this and the prior movie to take back with me, Harper. Q allowed the captain to remember his experiences and I believe that he will allow me to retain the record of mine. I will use the knowledge to prevent what I can. The result of these events seemed to be leading to greatly improved relations with the Romulans. I must do what I can to insure that outcome, as it has been long desired. Ambassador Spock was willing to give his life for reunification. I too see infinite advantages to an alliance with our long time enemies. The Dominion wars took a devastating toll on the Federation. This would be a highly beneficial event for both sides. I must do everything necessary to ensure that it comes to pass." He spoke softly, but firmly.

"But you would also be a great benefit to those future proceedings. Your past dealings with the Romulans, your dealings with Spock. Your untimely death could lead to the breakdown of those talks-" She sounded pleading and close to tears.

"I am not a diplomat, Harper. That is the captain's forte, not mine. Commander Riker is also quite gifted in this area, but I am not. I assure you that I will attempt to forestall my death, but should it happen this way, it would please me to know what the result could be." He kissed her forehead. "I will try to survive the day, Harper," he assured her.

"But I will never know if you do," she observed. Now the tears came. He held her while she sobbed. He could not promise that his existence would not end in this way. He could only promise to do everything in his power to prevent it...if he was not destroyed even sooner in his timeline.

It took some time, but after thirty-two minutes and twelve seconds, Harper's fierce grip on him finally relaxed and her breathing slowed. She slept. Data sighed and allowed himself to also relax. In the middle of this bed, three different beings huddled together. Three members of a family. Three beings who loved one another. In a moment, they were all dreaming.


	12. Chapter 12 Bombs Away

Chapter Twelve – Bombs Away

Harper ambled downstairs and put the coffee on. The smell would wake her mother, it always did. Data was outside walking his baby. She was relieved to be away from him for a moment. He was worried about her and this caused him to watch her persistently. He had even suggested that she should put on her coat and join him and Sadie for their walk, but she had declined. She wanted a moment alone.

She kept trying to shake off this gray funk that she had plunged into, but the way out eluded her. No emotions…he had died with no emotions. The Queen destroyed the chip. The bitch had hurt him even more that Harper had believed, and left him unequipped to deal with the pain and damage she had caused. Pain without emotion, was it possible? Data had shown her the parts of the book that had alluded to his developing emotional awareness, independent of the chip's influence. This was great and something that she had always wanted to see anyway, but to have killed him moments later...it was just not fair.

The headlines on a magazine and even some thread on the Star Trek message board had called Data's death his final step into humanity. Harper wanted to spit every time she heard or read this. She saw their point, but self-sacrifice was not an exclusively human characteristic and neither was death. Animals had been known to commit self-sacrificing acts and every type of life-form, even plants, died. Perhaps she was still too emotional to truly see their point, but damn it...he should not die!

Harper looked in the freezer and the fridge to take stock of the items with which she could make a breakfast. Cooking would help calm and center her. She pulled out frozen shredded potatoes for hash browns, sausage and biscuits.

The smell of the coffee and sausage cooking greeted Data when he reentered the house with Sadie. He spied one of the household cats racing for a hiding place at his entrance, but he did not pursue it. He detached Sadie's leach from her collar and let her go looking for the elusive feline. He went to seek out his own prey.

Harper.

As he entered the kitchen, located in the back of the large house, he could hear sounds of movement upstairs. Harper looked busy, but the light was still missing from her eyes. He came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. She reached up and patted his cheek with affection.

"Don't impede my progress, love. Timing is crucial in breakfast preparation. Would you get me a cup of coffee, please? Cups are in the cabinet to the left of the sink." She was cutting up bananas for a fruit salad and watching the other foods cook.

"I would be happy to," he told her and moved to comply. "Why do you not cook this way at home? You seem to be enjoying this," he asked, pulling the milk from the refrigerator.

"Cooking for one is no fun," she stated.

"If you cooked like this, I think I would be tempted to partake. The aromas are...enticing."

She gave him a short laugh. "Now you tell me." She looked over at him and smiled. "If you're good, I'll think about it," she teased.

"When was I bad?" he wanted to know.

"When you allowed yourself to get blown up! Stop that and I'll think about cooking for you and maybe even marrying you." Data sighed.

"I believe that I have already promised to try and avoid that ending. But I cannot put the plan into effect until I leave your time, therefore I cannot see how it is practical to ask me to stop blowing up here and now." He raised his eyebrows at her and Harper grinned.

"Do you realize that a large portion of our conversations are half crazy? I wonder if it will always be so?" She looked up from her work to see him move closer. Data took the knife and fruit from Harper's hand and pulled her into his arms.

"Would you think I was malfunctioning if I told you that I would wish for our conversations to remain unbalanced?" His eyes were serious, despite the strangeness of the subject.

"Yes," she replied, smiling. Some of the light was returning to her beautiful eyes.

"Good," he said and kissed her. He was thinking about how much he had missed making love with her last night, when he heard sounds of movement behind them.

Someone coughed.

Data released Harper and they both turned to look at Marie and an older man that must be Harper's father, Marcus. Both of them were dressed in nightclothes and robes, while both Data and Harper had dressed already. Marie, who had hair as dark as Harper's though peppered with gray, wore it short and tightly curled. She was the same height as Harper and the same build, but had added inches on to a frame that must have at one time markedly resembled Harper's shapeliness.

Mr. Ista would have been as tall as Data, were it not for the older man's stoop. He was a round man, with a full head of thick blonde hair. If he was gray, the gray was difficult to discern from his pale blond. However, in the man's full beard, it was not.

"Good morning. Smells wonderful, Harper." Mrs. Ista commented. "Jayden, this is my husband, Marcus," she added turning her gaze to Data.

Both Data and Marcus extended their hands. "Good to meet you, Jayden," Marcus said, smoothly.

"And you, sir. I thank you for inviting me into your home," Data said, earnestly.

"If you're foolish enough to want to be here, who am I to dissuade you of the notion," Marcus said, humorously, as he turned to head for the kitchen table.

"Daddy!" Harper scolded, glaring at her father in motion. "Don't think for a moment that I don't know that what you meant was that he's crazy for being with me."

Her father chuckled a chuckle that caused one to want to join him. "Anyone who wants to date one of my daughters needs to be warned of the dangers. Especially if the daughter is you, Harper. With Brinna or Becky a man can get away, but if you get your hooks out, they're goners." The older man sat at the head of the kitchen table, but looked across to make eye contact with the only other male in the room.

"Has she cooked for you yet? Other than now? Or invited you over for dinner?" Marcus asked Jayden.

"She cooks often, but if you are asking if she has prepared a meal with the intent of pleasing me, the answer is no." Jayden answered factually. Harper rolled her eyes.

"Then you still have time. Once she starts cooking for you, it means she's serious and if you don't run, your days as a bachelor are numbered." Marcus grinned at his daughter. Harper laughed and turned to await Jayden's response.

Jayden walked from the kitchen after smiling warmly at Harper. He pulled out a chair that would allow him to see both Harper and Mr. Ista. "I have no intention of running whether she cooks for me or not. Breakfast does look and smell intriguing, however." Jayden grinned at Harper and she blushed slightly.

"I'm not making this for you. I was hungry." Harper said, defensively.

"I am relieved, since you did not eat well yesterday." Jayden replied.

"Why, Harper? Was your stomach bothering you?" Marie asked, taking her seat at the other end of the table with her cup of coffee.

"No, I was just...worried about the movie." Both of her parents exchanged knowing looks.

"Did he die?" Marie asked. No need to say whom.

"Yes," Harper answered. Her colour had been returning to her cheeks, but it was gone again.

"I'm sure you can write him fixed if you set your mind to it." Marie said, dismissing Harper's sullen expression. She turned to address Jayden. "Has she told you about her Data stories. Since you went to the Star Trek movie with her last night, I assume she has." Marie said.

"I know of them and she has told me about some of them, but she will not allow me to read them, no matter how often I ask," he replied.

"That's odd, I could never get her to stop talking about them. I think she would have mailed them to me had I shown the slightest interest." Marie grinned teasingly at her daughter. This time when she turned to Jayden, she did so with intent. The questioning about him and his intentions towards their daughter began. Harper finished making breakfast, set the table and served the food while Jayden was drilled about his job, his past (most of which he dodged) and his plans for the future.

"I believe the future may involve significantly more travel than Harper is used to, if events proceed as I believe they will." Jayden said this with confidence, but no one else around the table had any idea what he meant.

"Where will I be traveling and why?" Harper asked him, confused.

"Not you alone, us. I am in line for a promotion at Comp-Tech and I feel reasonably confident that I will be selected for the position. The position entails a significant amount of travel. I am hoping that you will accompany me should I receive the promotion." He smiled at her, but Marie was the next to speak.

"What about her job? She can't leave her job for days on end following you around, Jayden."

"Actually, her last day was Friday. She only retains her employment at the store." Jayden stated this so calmly, but he was surprised at the Ista's reaction to his announcement.

"What? You've had that job for years!" exclaimed her father.

"Were you fired or phased out?? How could they do that? You have been with them for so long!" exclaimed her mother at the same time.

"Mom, Dad! I was not fired. I gave my notice and yesterday was my last day. I...Jayden and I decided that I didn't need to work two jobs anymore. I guess I should have mentioned my leaving my job earlier, but it would have meant that I had to tell you that Jayden and I are living together as well, and I wanted to hold off on that." Harper looked pointedly at Jayden, who looked repentant.

Both her parents' jaws dropped for a second, but they exchanged looked with each other and recovered.

"Well, it is your life, Harper," Marie said, in a dismissive tone.

"Mom, don't sound like that. I should have better prepared you for this. I kept trying to keep our relationship under wraps and I guess I should have been telling people all along. Melody did not react very well at first either. But she knows now and she likes Jayden, mom. You know she's not easily swayed." Harper sounded part defensive, part pleading.

"How long have you two been living together?" Marcus asked.

Harper begrudgingly answered. "Almost four months now. A friend sent Jayden to me and he needed a place to stay. He was new in town and had nowhere else to go. He moved into my spare room and worked on getting a new job. I helped him out until he got on his feet and we became friends. Then it became more than friends." She felt bad about saying that a friend sent him, as she didn't think that Data truly thought of Q as a friend, but it just came out that way. The ex-wife story would sound bad here, so she wanted to try something that was as close to the truth as possible. This was less likely to cause Data problems should someone else ask him about it. It would also be easier for her to remember, and Harper had a terrible memory.

"I was at first a financial burden on Harper. I have made restitution and I now intend to see that her every need is provided and that her dreams are made reality." Jayden said this with a straight face, but Harper was at a loss to explain how.

Dreams made reality? Wasn't that exactly what he was?

Still his statement was laying a foundation for him to build on with her parents. His natural charm was not the same as her brother-in-law's brand, but it still had power. Brandon together with Jayden would be interesting.

A good distraction...

Harper took note of Data, Jayden, whoever he was; sampling the small servings of food that he had placed on his plate. He seemed intrigued by the taste of the sausage gravy over the biscuits. She smiled to herself.

"And putting up with the third degree from my family is just one of the things he's willing to go through to make me happy and work on my dreams. By the way, are Brin and Bran coming this evening?" Harper asked, changing the subject and hoping to take the heat off the man she faced.

Marie sighed to release tension. "Yes, Brinna asked if we could have beef stroganoff for dinner. Sound alright with you two?" she asked, focusing on a spoonful of the fruit. Data did not believe that she was truly interested in his or Harper's response.

"Sounds great. Can't wait to see how big she is now. I finished the blanket. It's in the van." Brinna's baby was due around the first of January. Marie told the table of plans that her middle daughter had for the baby, and what the doctor told her at her last visit.

"I just hope she doesn't go into labor for Christmas. Brin being born just before Christmas was hard enough. Two in one household will be a pain in the...a pain." Marie said, catching herself. She turned to look at Jayden. "When is your birthday, Jayden?" she asked conversationally.

"February second." Replied Jayden and Harper in chorus.

"Another February? With Brandon, that makes three," Marie mused. Data looked across to Harper. Another? Three? He realized that he had never asked Harper when her birthday took place. Marie's reaction indicated that is was also in the same month of his activation day, but of course his February second took place three hundred and seventy two years from now and in another timeline.

"When is Brandon's birthday?" Jayden asked, looking hopefully at Harper.

"February twelfth, six days before mine and ten after yours. This will make for a full month. If Uncle James lived here that would give us four, since his is the day before mine." Harper answered, thinking out loud and answered Data's unasked question at the same time.

The meal was coming to an end and this was Data's cue to begin the clean up. Harper got up to help, but he encouraged her to remain seated and rest. He knew how to load a dishwasher.

Marie and Marcus watched this exchange, believing it rehearsed. Harper carried on with the conversation, as though this was a normal occurrence and her parents began to wonder. Sadie suddenly came running down the hall, from the living room, being chased by a gray-stripped tabby named Zak. Zak was hissing wildly at the frightened puppy, but did not seem too intent on actually catching her. Marie jumped to her feet to scold Zak and Harper sprang into action to rescue her pup.

Sadie's heart was beating a mile a minute as Harper held her close, trying to soothe her. Data came to see what had happened from the kitchen.

"Did you put your nose where it did not belong?" Data asked his pet. "While the saying does state that curiosity killed the cat, that does not preclude the possibility of the same consequence befalling a canine." Data lectured the ashamed looking Sadie.

Harper laughed and shook her head at him. Looking down at Sadie she said, "What daddy means is, no, no, bad dog!"

Data went back to finish the dishes, but Harper stopped him, asking him to take Sadie for a walk instead, that she would attend to them, Marie volunteered to help.

"He certainly loves his dog," Marie noted. Marcus had retired to the living room to watch TV, and most likely to fall asleep. Marie was putting the fruit salad away.

"He does. You should see them playing on the floor together. I didn't think I would see anything get him on the floor. He is very...dignified in many ways. When Melody was with us, we stayed up one night and watched horror movies. Mel and I were on the floor and invited him to join us. You would have thought we had suggested he strip naked and do a jig down Main Street. He stayed on the couch by himself." Harper recalled the expression of distaste that had played across Data's face. She could not hold back a chuckle. "Sadie creates some problems for now since she's so young, but he deserved her, so it's worth it having a baby in the house."

"Deserved her? What do you mean?" Marie asked, wiping down the counter.

Harper placed a dish in the machine and glanced back up to her mother. "I haven't lived with anyone...a man...for a long time. He and I...as soon as he moved in, we did everything together. Slowly he found out just about all there was to know about me. Robin came up...and...well...Jayden realized that I never fully worked through my feelings about Robin. He helped me to work on that. He too had a trauma that he needed to work through. I can't tell you about it, since it is not my tale to tell, but I helped him through his and he helped me through mine. I got him Sadie the day he had a major breakthrough with his problem. He was thrilled." Harper absently thought of Data asking her if her parents had any furniture that they would not mind destroyed and grinned to herself. Already, it seemed that they had quite a history between them.

"Why haven't you cooked for him, Harper? Your behavior doesn't make any sense to me. You sound like you're in love with him, but..." her mother asked gently. Harper turned to face her mother, turning off the water in the sink.

"He's not a big eater. I know, I've always lead with my strong suit when I was interested in someone before, but Jayden is...not your typical male." Harper became quiet and thoughtful for a moment. She looked back at her mother, who was leaning against a counter and staring at her.

"Are you in love with him?" Marie asked, point blank.

"Yes. It is why we're here, you know. I'm doing the 'introduce him to the parents' thing." Harper heard Jayden return with Sadie, but he didn't come back to the kitchen. She realized that she had stopped talking but her mother was still staring. Sounds of puppy yips and a male voice telling her what a good puppy she was could be heard from the direction of the formal dinning room.

"Sorry, I was just wondering what he was doing." Harper admitted, distractedly.

"Go, we're done here. I'm going to see if your father is snoring yet." Marie went in one direction and Harper went in the other. She found Data standing in front of her parents' Christmas tree. This room and the family room where the only ones really decorated for the holiday. Most people chose a larger room for their tree, but Marie liked to have her morning coffee and wanted it at a table, so the tradition of having Christmas in the dinning room had been the result. Her mother must have flipped the tree lights on when she got up. The tree looked...magical.

"What ya doin', handsome?" Harper asked, by way of announcing her presence.

"Looking at this...artificial tree." He turned to face her. "I had, of course realized the Christian holiday was approaching, but I had not realized your family participated in its celebration."

Harper sighed. She had held back on decorating this year. She just wasn't sure about doing so.

"Were you aware that Brent Spiner is Jewish?" Harper asked him.

He looked confused. "I had read this...is there a significance to your mentioning this fact at this time?"

"The show does not really talk about your religion or even hint that you or anyone else, other than...Bajorans, have one. Still, since he's Jewish...I was not sure if I would make you uncomfortable if I started to bring out all this Christmas stuff." Harper shrugged, helplessly.

Data smiled. "I look like him. I am not he. He has been linked with his preferred female for over a decade, procreated with her, yet has not married her. I would not have done this," Data assured her, meaningfully. Harper looked defensive.

"I'm not sure that's fair, Jayden. While Mr. Spiner guards his privacy fiercely, I have read things that hint at a difference of religion being the reason that he and Miss McBride have never married. She is Catholic, or so I've read. We really have no way of knowing for sure if they have not married and even if not, it sounds like they are faithful to each other...that counts more than the little piece of paper."

"Agreed. Does this mean that you are not interested in 'the little piece of paper'?" he asked.

Harper laughed. "Do we have religious differences?" She grinned as he considered this. "I go to church for Christmas and Easter, just like any good heathen. I have a bible and I have read it, I like church, but I worked so much I got away from going. I do try to be a good person and help my fellow...sentient being when I can, but if you feel that having a Christmas tree in the house would upset you, we may have to go the same route as Mr. Spiner."

Data shook his head. "I wish to learn all I can about your culture. Religion plays a significant role in cultural variations. To exclude this area in my studies would be counterproductive." His expression softened and he looked deeply into her eyes. "If you were created by a god, I was not. Yet it may surprise you to know that in reading the material that my father left behind, I discovered that he was...religious in his own way. He believed that he was intended to create Lore and myself as he felt a god created him. He even made reference to creating us in his image as the Biblical God is said to have crated His children in His image." Data whispered most of this, since they did not wish Harper's parents to overhear.

Harper tilted her head to the side, considering this information. Data found himself thinking that this mannerism looked like...his. "Wow. Did he mention anything about your mother's beliefs?"

"Like Miss McBride, my mother considered herself a Catholic. The fact that my father was not, caused tension between my mother's family and my father," Data told her.

"Not to mention the age difference. I remember her saying something about that too. Fortunately, you and I don't have that one. You're what, 36?" Data nodded. "So that means you are one year and sixteen days older than I am. Good thing you are not Brent Spiner. His sixteen years older than I am." Harper grinned, but Data narrowed his eyes at her.

"I do, one day, intend to meet Mr. Spiner. Will it be necessary to see that you are not present at this meeting?" he teased. She laughed.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. He's got his blond girlfriend, remember?"

Data did not look convinced. "This does not mean that you will not...flirt with him. You do have a tendency to..."

"Flirt with every man I see?" she finished for him. "I'm a friendly person. I warned you about that. I'm sure he gets it all the time. I'm sure he gets worse than me every day. Ignoring me will be a cake walk for him," she assured him. Data still looked doubtful. "Oh, good God! You are jealous because you know I think he's handsome. Trust me, honey, he is not going to give a tinker's damn what I think about him, but if it makes you feel any better, I promise that I won't try and slip him my room key." Data's eyes got wide.

"I would hope not, as I intend to see that your room will also be MY room!"

Harper's eyes gleamed. She slipped her hand in his and moved closer. "Oh, it will be...it will be." She moved in to kiss him. He sighed as their lips touched. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her against him. Desire ignited, but Harper had other plans. She pulled away after only one minute and three seconds of kissing.

"So, we have decided that this year at least, we celebrate Christmas?" she asked, looking for confirmation. He nodded. "Then I think we have some shopping to do," she said with a playful grin. He sighed. He had been hoping for a different activity, but... Harper grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her, into the living room. Harper moved separately to her mother's side, leaving him at the doorway. She whispered into her mother's ear, as Marcus had fallen asleep. A moment later, she almost skipped back to his side.

"Let's go!" she said with glee. "Mom will watch Sadie. Got the keys?"

They grabbed their coats and were out the door moments later. Harper wanted to shop for her family since she had not had the opportunity to shop before this. She also admitted that Nemesis and Data's prolonged period of gloom before the movie had kept her from feeling 'the Christmas spirit'. Explaining that one took a while.

Since they would be returning with gifts for people that were home, Harper found a place to have the gifts they purchased wrapped. Before long, Data looked like a typical male during the Christmas season, buried behind loads of packages.

"It is a good thing that I am strong and untiring, Harper," he teased her from behind the stack. I believe another male would be challenged by the physical demands you have placed on me today." Harper stopped in her tracks, moved so she could look him in the eye and winked.

"Oh, I have not even begun to challenge you physically yet, buckaroo."

Data was left to wonder if that meant what he thought that meant.

They arrived back at the Ista household in time for lunch. Data walked Sadie after unloading the gifts and placing them in perfect symmetry under the tree. Harper had to restrain herself from laughing at his efforts, but busied herself by turning on a radio station that was playing old-fashioned Christmas carols.

After lunch, Marie came in the dining room to check out the new packages and listen to the music. She took note of Jayden's rearrangements and shot Harper a confused and disturbed look.

"Don't mind him, madre, he's nuts, but he's harmless nuts." Harper laughed.

"Why do you say that I am nuts? I am not arguing the point. I merely wish to know what has inspired you to comment on this fact." Data's question, and the fact that he owned up to being crazy, caused Harper to get the giggles.

"I don't really think you're crazy, sweetness, but the way you arranged the presents under the tree...well...it's just too orderly. Too balanced. I bet they're in order of item or something else too aren't they?" she asked, teasingly.

Data looked embarrassed. "I did not know the content of all the packages, so they are grouped by the name of their intended future owner." Marie looked very confused as Harper just giggled harder.

"You should see our closets. Everything grouped by color and function. His socks are all mated and...even his unmentionables are neat and orderly. He keeps trying to get into my pajama drawer to match up my pj bottoms to the correct top, but I've managed to thwart him so far."

"You mean you still wear mismated tops and bottoms? Harper, are you ever going to grow out of that? Tell me you wear socks that match at least," Marie looked disappointed in her daughter's refusal to conform.

"Leave me alone! I wear the right mates when I wear my silk pajamas!" Harper defended.

"I cannot vouch for this, as you refuse to wear them claiming it is too cold." Jayden offered.

"Complain about my eccentricities and you may not get the chance to see them, come spring!" Harper shot back. Data's eyes went wide, but Marie just snickered.

"I would give up if I were you, Jayden. She has never been normal, and age is not going to make it any better." Marie said, chiding her daughter.

"This from the woman who gets evil pleasure out of chasing her cats down the hall with remote controlled cars. You named one of our dogs "Bunny" and she was a collie. And last but not least, you once convinced your own husband that you were crazy when he came into the room as you were poised over me, and I was on the floor, with a glass full of coke, that you were just about to pour on my head." Data looked astonished, but looked to Marie for denial or confirmation. Marie just looked guilty. "The hell of it was that as soon as daddy shook his head and walked back out, mom proceeded to pour the coke on me just as she'd planned!" Jayden grinned. Marie laughed and Harper steamed...and then laughed.

Still laughing Harper got up from her chair, kissed her mother on the cheek and excused herself for a shower. Both Jayden and Marie watched her go. Jayden wished he could follow, but he had a few things he wanted to ask.

"You seem to have an unusually playful relationship with your daughter," Jayden noted. Marie studied his face for a moment before responding.

"Yes, and you have a very formal way of speaking. Some of my more...country friends think I speak in an uptight and formal way. I don't think they would understand half of the things you say, Jayden. Where does that come from?" Marie did not seem to have trouble understanding him, but he wondered if she was being critical of his speech patterns or merely taking note of them.

"My mother is a geologist and my father...had many interests, but he was fascinated by robotics. He and my mother felt compelled to have their offspring behave in a particular manner and strove to see this accomplished." Data sighed inwardly at having found a way to answer her question, without lying and without telling too much of the truth.

"Your mother is alive?" Marie asked gently. Data nodded, with a meaningful expression. "Are you close to her?"

"My mother remarried after she and my father separated. Her work and her husband keep her...far from me, but I spoke with her six months ago. I intend to see her as soon as she is able to see me. I cannot say that my family is as close as yours appears to be." Data thought of Lore...not for the first time or even the hundredth time. He wished things could have been different between himself and his brother. There were so many things he would have liked to ask Lore. Things he would have enjoyed sharing with him. But Data was unsure it this would ever be possible.

Data waited three seconds to allow Marie to process his answer before asking a question of his own. "Mrs. Ista. I...may I ask for your advice? As I have not known Harper for a long period of time, I am unsure of my ability to locate an appropriate gift for her. With the holidays quickly approaching, my time is now limited. Can you offer any suggestions?"

Marie smiled, thinking again of how formally he spoke. "Well, Harper is a very practical girl. While most women might be offended by a gift that came with a cord, Harper would be pleased. So, is there anything in her house that you know needs replacing?"

An image of the ruined reclining chair immediately came to Data's mind.

"You thought of something?" she prompted.

"The reclining chair in our living room recently met with its demise," he explained.

Jayden had a very guilty expression on his face. "What happened, Jayden?" she asked.

"I broke it," he admitted, trepidation displayed clearly in his currently blue eyes.

"Well, sounds like the thing." Marie spread out her hands, palms up and smiled.

Jayden shook his head. "I cannot agree. While she was interested in replacing the chair, she indicated that she disliked the old one and was happy that it was finally gone. I doubt my ability to- -have I said something wrong?" Jayden asked noting the dismayed expression on Marie's face.

"No, it's just that I gave her that chair. I think you were trying to say that you were worried that if you picked a chair, she would hate it again," Marie said, trying not to sound upset. After all, he had not been the one who hated the chair.

Jayden nodded.

"Well, maybe something to do with Star Trek would be a good idea. She asked me for one of the DVD sets, but I got her something else. If you know which ones she has..." Marie shrugged.

Jayden considered. He recalled her mentioning that she wanted these, but only had season one, two and four of the 'show'. Still the thought of buying them...being who he was...seemed strange. He would have to give this more thought. He thanked Marie for her suggestions and excused himself to head upstairs. He grabbed Sadie on his way.

Data could hear from the dining room, that the water from the shower had ceased. He decided he would wait for Harper in the bedroom and hope she would come out soon. To his delight, the door to the bathroom opened just as he passed it. Harper had a very large towel wrapped around her; her hair was wrapped up in a second, smaller towel.

"Greetings," he said.

"Imagine meeting you here. Come here often, gorgeous? My bed or yours?" She grinned at the confused look that took over his face.

"I do not come here often as this is my first visit to your parents' home. Harper, we are sharing a bed. Was this some form of humor?"

"Yes, my golden boy. But seriously, what's up?" They entered the bedroom and Harper locked the door behind them. Data put Sadie on the floor.

Sitting on the edge of the bed in order to watch her, he said, "Nothing is up. Your mother did comment on my tendency for formalized speech patterns."

Harper pulled the towel off her head as she sat next to him on the bed. "What did you say about it?" she asked.

"I explained that my parents... felt compelled to have their offspring behave in a particular manner and strove to see this accomplished."

She sighed. "Word for word?" he nodded. "Not bad. Turn the disguise off, Data," she whispered. He hesitated.

"Are we going to remain here for a time?" he asked, still blue eyed.

"Yes. If you want," she said reaching for his hand.

He turned off the holo-disguise.

"There's my golden boy," she said grinning, affection radiating in her eyes for him.

"You do know that I was never a boy?"

She laughed, "Yes, you were. It's just that you looked like an adult and your mother deleted the memories." Harper caressed his cheek. "I always wondered why they did that."

He looked slightly embarrassed. "You saw the time when Juliana came to the Enterprise and mentioned my modesty subroutine?" he asked.

She grinned and nodded. Standing up slowly, she began to open the large towel that covered her body. "Oops, looks like my modesty subroutine just got deleted...how about yours?" she asked suggestively.

The towel hit the floor.

She lay in his arms, some time later. Her head was on his chest, and she was being very quiet.

"Harper, you are not sleeping. Did you wish to get dressed and get up?" He nuzzled and kissed her forehead.

"No, don't want to move right now. If you want to go, that's okay. Sadie will need walking." She sounded depressed and since they had just made love, Data did not understand this.

"Have I done something wrong? Why are you upset? Your tone indicates depression."

"I could hear _his _voice saying that he felt nothing. He never knew love. I know that he had friends who loved him, but he never got the chance to fall in love. Even Q got married and had a son."

"He did?" Data asked, shocked. "When?"

"I told you that you needed to watch more Voyager. He does it to stop a civil war within the Q. He does care for his son though." She sighed. "Everyone should know love."

Data lifted her chin gently, meeting her eyes. He smiled gently. "If he and I are one in a sense, if I will face the events he faces in my future, then perhaps he faced the same past...here with you. I know love, Harper. In knowing you I have experienced love. If he and I are the same, he did too."

Tears streamed down her face. "But then you are destined to die! I can't stand the thought that you will die. I know that it will be in the future and I will never know and it won't really affect me at all, but-" she sobbed. "I don't want you to die," she choked out.

Data held her tightly to his chest. "While I found many aspects of the film intriguing...I believe that the end result can easily be circumvented. I will do everything I can to...not die. If it were necessary I would give my life for them, but if I die then without cause, I may not be there to save them at a later date. I will avoid it if I can, Harper," he assured her.

"Do you think you can?" she asked.

"I believe so."

"With what level of certainty? What percent chance do you give yourself of living through that day with what you now know?" she asked, sitting up.

He sat up too. "I calculate at this time, with the reduced amount of details that I have at my disposal, that my survival is 81% certain. Further details gathered at the time may increase that percentage.

Harper grinned. After a moment, that grin was accompanied by a nervous, yet hopeful laugh. "You really think you can survive the day? Are you just making this up because you want me to stop crying?" She tried not to look suspicious.

"You are fully aware of my propensity for honesty."

"You could be bending the truth," she remarked.

"Am I?"

Harper chuckled and broke eye contact, embarrassed. "No. Do you think I'm a crazy woman for getting all upset about seeing _him _die?" she asked, looking at Data in the corner of her eyes.

"Mental imbalance seems to be a requirement for our relationship," Data teases, tenderly.

"Does this mean that once Q does decide to take you back, that you're gonna spend a month on Deanna's couch in order to straighten out all the damage I've done?"

He kissed her forehead. "I should think that twenty nine days would be enough."

She groaned and rolled her eyes at him. "I'm getting you a joke book for Christmas. You need help!"

"Will you promise to read it first?" he teased back.

Brinna and Brandon Charles arrived, with the items that Marie needed for the evening meal, at 4:30. Brinna was just an inch taller than Harper with bleached blonde hair and brown eyes. Her pregnancy was quite prominent, but she wore it well. She would have looked better with brown hair, as Data assumed she had been born with, but she was pretty even so.

Brandon Charles was a big man. He was 6'3" and larger in build. His blond was natural from his hair to his mustache. His eyes were a sparkling blue and held a twinkle that reminded Data of Commander Riker. Both Brandon and his wife were deeply tanned, even now, well into the winter.

Introductions were made and groceries were transported to the kitchen. Harper stood by Data's side for the whole process.

"So, computers." Brandon said to Jayden once everyone was around the kitchen table or in the kitchen beginning the cooking.

"Yes?" said Jayden.

"You're good with them?" Brandon asked.

"You could say that he speaks their language," Harper called from the stove. Brinna was behind her getting drinks for her husband and herself. Marie was slicing an onion on the counter. Jayden resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Know anything about cars? I manage one of the biggest dealerships in the area." Brandon did not really sound like he was bragging, but Jayden was not sure.

"I know what is required to maintain proper function of our van," Jayden replied. He knew more than this of course, but he was not sure where this line of questions was headed.

"Our van?" Brinna squeaked, handing her husband a beer and seating herself.

Harper sighed, but gave no indication of how he should answer. "I have thought of purchasing a second vehicle, but-"

"You have? Harper questioned, turning completely around from the pan of sizzling sirloin tips, to look at him.

"Well, the van is larger than I need. It is actually larger than you need. I have been considering discussing this matter with you, but had yet to feel the time was appropriate." Data hoped he did not sound defensive.

"You want to get rid of the van? And get what, a little sports car? You're a little young to be going through a mid life crisis, aren't you?" She had her hands on her hips and her head tilted, looking expectantly at Jayden. Everyone else seemed to be amused that with no effort, Jayden had suddenly gotten himself into hot water.

"I could get you a good deal on two little sports cars if you wanted?" Brandon offered, grinning. He knew he was not helping.

"If it doesn't come in purple, I'm not interested." Harper turned back to her cooking and looked like she considered the matter closed.

"You know, He does have a point, Harper." Marie observed. "You drive that great big thing for no good reason anymore. With Melody in college, you have no need for all those seats."

Harper sighed. "I have quit my job, bought a dog, let you take over just about ever part of my life, Jayden. Now you want me to give up my van. What's next, my house?" she huffed, but did not look at him.

Jayden paused a moment to consider his answer. "The house is too big as well. We do not need the extra rooms and the two downstairs are simple used for storage of unneeded items. But that can wait until I am informed as to whether my promotion will require relocation as well."

"Relocation?" exclaimed Brinna and Marie.

"What?" exclaimed Harper.

"Are you two living together?" asked Brandon.

Jayden was unsure whom he should answer first. "It may require relocation, but it was not decided unequivocally. I have not received the promotion, so at this time, this is merely speculation. Yes, Harper and I are cohab- living together." Jayden wondered what the next round of questions would bring.

Marie came over to Jayden with a can of tomato paste in her hand. "How long do you intend for this 'living together' to last? You sound like you are making quite a few long range plans."

"I wish it to last...for the remaining time I have on this planet. I wish for Harper to marry me." Jayden's honest response again met with open mouths.

"He is very good at dropping bombs, Harper," Marie commented, swallowing her shock.

Jayden opened his mouth to object but Harper interrupted him.

"Figurative bombs, Sweetness. Just figurative! Yes, he is. I just wish he would drop them all on me before dropping them on anyone else." Harper still smiled at him. The fact that he was planning out their lives together made it hard for her to really get angry with him.

"You mean he didn't tell you that he wanted to marry you?" Brinna asked, still looking shocked at Jayden.

Harper laughed. "That one, I knew. I want to marry him, too. We thought we should let you guys get to know him under the circumstances, I just thought we were going to wait on that announcement."

"Sorry," Jayden offered, looking like he was trying to do an imitation of one for Sadie's guilty expressions.

"I told you men can't escape from you, Harper," her father said, calmly. Making his first comment of the evening from his seat at the head of the table.

Jayden smiled. "I was given the opportunity," he noted. "I declined."

After dinner, Brinna informed Harper that they were going to get ice cream for dessert and pulled her out of the house.

"Where did you find him?" Brinna asked, once they were out of the house.

"Home shopping network. But they forgot to send his instructions. I may have programmed him wrong," Harper laughed at her own joke. They got in Brinna's car.

"He talks strangely." Her sister commented, ignoring the joke. "Mom called me this afternoon and told me that you had disappeared upstairs with him. If you haven't known this guy for long, how do you know that it's safe to...be with him? I know you can't get pregnant, but there are other things you could get." There was half worry and half admonishment in Brinna's tone.

"I am not that foolish, Brin. I'm a big girl and I may be out of practice in some things, but I am not completely lost!"

In the van, on the way back to Georgia, the next afternoon, Harper thought about Brinna and her comment regarding the safety of being with the man seated beside her. While the things that Brinna had been thinking about were not concerns of Harper's, Data's leaving one day and breaking her heart was.

Harper's parents were not completely won over by Data like she had hoped, but the fact that he had been the one to mention marriage and making Harper happy seemed to have gone a long way towards that goal.

Monday was a busy day for Harper. The men came to look at the kitchen floor and measure to cut the new tile. Harper also decided that since Data did not object, she would now decorate for Christmas. She didn't over do it, but she did pull out the tree, the train that went around it and the Christmas village that went on the mantle.

Sadie did not like the train, but Data did.

The couple decided that they would stay home for Christmas, so that morning Data woke Harper with her morning coffee and perfectly baked instant sweet rolls. He wasn't much of a cook, but he didn't need to be. There was only one gift for Harper under the tree. She laughed very hard when she opened the package containing new gray fluffy slippers.

"They will match the night wear that you wore the first night I was here," Data told her.

Harper kissed him and then handed his several packages of all shapes and sizes. It only took opening the first to determine the nature for these items. Harper had gotten Data new painting supplies.

"You can set them up in the spare bedroom," she suggested, pleased by the happy expression on his face. She did not even look upset that he had only gotten her one small gift.

Data seemed to be walking in a happy dream as he carted his new items to set them up in his old room. But he did not open them yet. He came back to the living room and pulled Harper to a stand.

"I have another gift for you, but I cannot give it to you now. We have an appointment on January third to have photographic portraits made of you and I."

Harper's eyes lit up. "That sounds wonderful!" she exclaimed, but them looked a little sad. "But the portraits would have to be of Jayden...not you."

"I do not believe that it would be easy to explain away my skin and eyes were we to try," Data cautioned her. But he noticed that Harper looked lost in thought. "You should move your eyes back and forth, Harper. You will never convince anyone that you are an android if you fail to do so when you are processing information," he teased.

"I'll try and remember that, but maybe it would only be necessary to convince them that we were avid Star Trek fans," she still sounded caught up in her thinking.

"I do not understand."

"I would need a uniform. Can you sew?" she asked, grinning.

Data decided Harper's plan was so crazy, it truly could work. They moved the appointment back by one week in order to give Harper time to get her uniform made, but the results were worth the wait. She modeled the new garment for him three days before their amended appointment date.

"Why did you decide on medical colours?" Data asked her as she did a dramatic turn to give him the full view.

"Well, I know that I am by no means as lovely as Deanna, but I was thinking about our playing counselor for each other and- It was a choice of her or Beverly. I don't have red hair. Does it look bad?" she asked, suddenly self-conscious.

Data rose from the couch where he was sitting and smiled at her. "No, you do not look bad. I will be right back." He walked quickly from the room.

She waited a few minutes feeling a bit nervous, but she felt better when he returned. He had taken off his jeans and dress shirt and donned his uniform.

"This is another timeline inconsistency, Harper. In your movie timeline, our uniforms changed by the time I encountered the Queen. In my timeline they did not change. I must admit to disliking the version of our uniform as portrayed in the last three movies." Data took her hand and pulled her into the bedroom after him, as he spoke.

"I have to agree. You look great in black, but mustard, black and that grayish purple colour? No." He had pulled them into the bathroom to stand in front of the mirror together. "So, what is the penalty for impersonating a Star Fleet officer? I need pips for rank," she asked and mused.

"Star Fleet does not exist at this point, so you are safe from punitive actions. What rank would you believe you should have? It would be logical to have the rank of ensign."

"Oh, no. If we are going for the dream, I was thinking that I would try for the rank of full commander." Harper grinned with a false confidence and posed in the mirror next to him.

"You wish to out rank me?" he asked, incredulously.

"Deanna does. I never quite figured out how she could though. You're the second officer. You should be the third highest ranking officer, shouldn't you?"

"There is no mandate regarding the rank of the second officer. However," he pulled her into his arms. "I decree that you cannot outrank me."

"Why, don't want me to be able to order you to do a strip tease for me?" She joked.

He raised an unbelieving eyebrow at her. "An intriguing if not improper suggestion. No, I am the actual officer. I would consent to allowing you the rank of lieutenant junior grade, but no higher."

Harper laughed. "Party pooper." She quipped, poking him in the area where ribs would be, were he human. Data jerked away. Poking did not hurt, of course, but the sensation did seem to resemble Harper's reaction to a tickle. Until Harper, no one had ever tried to either poke or tickle him. Although, it had been threatened before.

"You know what we look like now, don't you?" she asked him, grinning at their reflection.

"Officers from a non-existent starship?" he replied.

"Well, yes, but I was going for...convention goers. You would win first prize in a contest for best costume and makeup. You look just like Data..." she grinned wildly at how ridiculous this was.

"Are you sure, I thought I looked more like Dr. Crusher." He pretended to admire himself in the mirror, even turning around to look at his backside. "Do I look fat in this?"

"Okay now you're scaring me. Beverly? You are nuts!" Harper shook her head at him. Data just grinned and kept looking in the mirror. He even tried to push his hair back from his face, like he had seen Beverly do hundreds of times, but since his hair was always out of his face, it didn't work well.


	13. Chapter 13 Promotions, Conventions

Chapter Thirteen – Promotions, Conventions and Weddings

The idea that Data could actually go to one of the Science Fiction and Fantasy conventions dressed as himself, with Harper dressed as a medical junior officer, greatly appealed to him. The portrait appointment almost seemed like a dry run for how he would be seen by others in "full makeup".

He and Harper had the 'normal' looking pictures made first with several poses that Data found very enjoyable. Harper standing behind him or her between his legs, in his lap or just beside him, holding his hand. It was a great deal of fun and the photographer and the assistant who posed Data and Harper were very personable.

Data had called to warn them that the time he and Harper would require had been increased to accommodate the pictures that would involve them "in uniform". Once the human looking pictures were done, Jayden and Harper retired to the dressing room with their costumes and a bag that was believed to contain Jayden's makeup, but actually had Harper's lunch. She nibbled while Data changed his clothes and then she changed. They had to waste some time since no one would believe that he could apply this makeup in just seconds. It was okay though since a man was having his portrait taken while Data and Harper got ready. The couple waited in the doorway and watched the last of the other man's pictures being taken. As soon as the three people in that room took notice of Data, they all turned and gaped. The man whose picture was being taken was apparently a fan of the show.

"Holy shit! Oh, sorry. Damn. Oh never mind. Man, you look just like the android on Star Trek. Data right?" he sputtered, trying to control his tongue and shock.

"Yes, Lt. Commander Data...from Star Trek." Data looked like it was almost painful to add the last part.

"You look just like him...I mean exactly! Did you get plastic surgery or something?" The man was looking Data over and almost looked like he would touch Data's face.

"Please, the makeup is very hard to get just right and we don't want to have to reapply it. Please don't touch him," Harper said, coming to stand a little in front of Data. Data gave the man an apologetic smile and shrug.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Who are you supposed to be?" he asked Harper.

"Just an unknown lieutenant. I don't look like anyone, unlike Jay here." Harper smiled. "We didn't mean to interrupt your session." Harper hoped this would bring the man's attention back to getting his pictures so their turn would come again. It worked and the guy apologized to the photographer.

"You're going to cause quite a stir if we ever do go to a convention, sweet love," Harper whispered.

"Then we should only do this once. When we can meet Mr. Spiner."

Harper looked at him. "You know, I wish I'd thought that you would want to meet him when we named you. Soong as your name is not going to be convincing as a coincident. We can't call you Jayden since someone will recognize that, I just called you Jay, but that won't work either."

"Why?" Data asked.

"That's Spiner's middle name and I forgot that until just this minute. We can use Lee, but for most conventions, you'll have to have your nametag on to go anywhere. Your last name will be on it and everyone is going to assume that you had your name changed. They'll think you're crazy."

Data laughed. "Is that supposed to be a revelation?" he touched the tip of her nose. "I have been perceived as unbalanced since I arrived here, I am becoming accustomed to this from you, acclimating to this from others will require little adjustment. I am considered odd but efficient at work. Oh, I did not mention this previously. The promotions are to be announced next week."

"You didn't say there was more than one. Did you apply for just one position?" Harper asked, trying to resist the temptation to stand too close to him.

"I applied for the positions that would involve travel to California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington State. There were two slots to fill there."

"I noticed those were listed in alphabetical order...it would just fry your circuitry to list them any other way, wouldn't it? And I also noticed that those states are as far from here as you can get." Harper was losing the battle to stay away from him. She put her hands on his chest and leaned in, just a bit, grinning at him.

"The order is in my nature. The states are...closer to a convention and a public debut for our uniformed selves. I do not consider this to be a true public appearance, since there are only three people here."

"Ah, I see now, you want the company to pay for your travel to a Sci-fi convention. Very clever. So, I remember reading that Spiner was coming to a convention in March. I take it that come hell, no promotion or high water, we're going to be there."

Data just gave Harper a knowing smile.

Data had brought his and Harper communicator. He had his phaser, with all the guts removed and the tricorder in the same state. During their 'in character' pictures, they traded off holding one or the other. The woman posing them wanted to have a picture where Data pointed the phaser at Harper, but even with the guts remove, Data had trouble pointing the harmless phaser at her. So she pointed at him instead. It too was a fun session. They returned to their 'normal' appearances and left after being told that the proofs would be ready in three weeks.

Data got the promotion. Neither of them really doubted that he would, but it was a relief to know. Data had been so eager to know that he had been getting a bit stressed again, but he managed not to pick up the phone and call Harper from work the very second he found out.

When he came home that night, Data came up the stairs from the garage to see Harper waiting at the top for him. She knew that today was the day and since he had not called, she looked anxious. It took great concentration, but he managed to keep the giddy grin from his face. He could see by the look on Harper's face that she was of the belief that he didn't get the promotion. He was greeted with a warm and consoling hug once he was up the stairs.

"I'm so sorry, Data. I know you really wanted that job. We can still go to the convention if you want. I love you, sweetness."

Data had to smile. She said all the right things, but she usually did. He took in the warmth of her loving embrace and just let himself sigh. The tension of waiting most of the day before the promotions were announced had played havoc on his emotional control today. But Harper was therapy in the flesh for him.

"You should change, my love. I am taking you to dinner at a rather expensive restaurant this evening so I will not change my attire." Data whispered this in her ear.

Harper pulled back to look at Data, confused. "One doesn't usually go out to a nice dinner if one is not celebrating something, Data," Harper told him gently.

"Then it is a good thing we have something to celebrate." He allowed the giddy expression to take over his face like his heightened emotional state had been demanding.

"What? You stinker! You wanted to trick me. Ah!" She pushed him away with a mock look of disgust. "You are a bad-Oh, Data I'm so happy for you!" She interrupted herself and threw her arms back around his neck.

"The hugs are wonderful, but suddenly they are not enough. Kiss me," he pleaded. She was only too happy to comply. "Marry me," he pleaded in the same tone a moment later.

Harper pulled away again to look at him. "I get the feeling that you mean right now."

"I do," Data said, meaningfully.

"Practicing?"

He nodded. "While I hesitate to bring this up, I was told that one of the advantage of this promotion was that a mate could travel with me and the company would pay for half of your ticket and room fee."

"Oh, more practical reasons for marrying me?" Data opened his mouth to defend himself, but Harper put her hand over his mouth. "I'm teasing. I know you're itching for a wedding band on your hand, and mine. So, since I can see that look in your eyes, I can tell you have more planned for me. When are we getting married?" Her eyes were glowing with her patient understanding of his nature. It was one of the many things about her that Data loved.

"This Friday. I found a justice of the peace who can marry us at 4:00. I have also called your parents and sister. They will be here at noon Friday for the ceremony and we can all go to dinner from there. Since Melody will not be able to attend, I wish permission to send her the funds to purchase a cellular phone so that she may at least hear the ceremony that will make me her step-father."

Harper chuckled. "Sounds like a movie of the week title..."my step-father's an android". She'll love it. How long are you going to let her keep this phone? Are you intending to spoil her more rotten than she already is?" Harper teased.

"I intend to do much worst to you," Data told her with an almost Lore-like grin.

The wedding was simple, but still special. Three people from Data's office, including his boss, Collin Windsor, came to the small affair. Betty, Susan and Janet came of Harper's friends. Harper's family, Betty and Mr. Windsor came to the dinner. Once the evening was over, Harper heard Data telling her parents that they would return late Sunday evening.

"What do you mean? You told me we were staying home for the weekend?" Harper asked, coming upon this group.

Data gave her a guilty look.

"Jayden had planned to stay home, but this is our wedding gift to you. We reserved a cabin in Helen for you as soon as he called us and invited us to the wedding," Harper's father informed his confused daughter.

"But they have to be reserved weeks in advance. You only found out Monday." Harper was stunned when not only her parents and sister started shaking their head, but Betty as well. Harper turned her gaze to Jayden. "You sneaky, conniving, tricky...how have you been able to live with your ethical subroutine?" Harper asked, hands on hips.

"Oh, Gawd, even here with the Star Trek?" teased Betty, using her Southern accent to draw out the words.

"It was not easy, I can assure you," Data admitted. "I will admit, that the television show has had an effect on our relationship, Miss Betty. Harper often compares me to one of the characters." He took his bride's hand in his own. "Harper Soong... My wife...I am married!" Data started laughing. He had no idea why, but he did. Everyone gave him various quizzical expressions. "I never believed I would ever actually attain this status. I have wished for it, but never truly believed...I love you, Mrs. Soong." Data pulled her briskly into his arms and kissed her with obvious delight and affection. The couple was surprised to hear everyone around them begin to clap.

It was a happy evening.

Helen was cold, but beautiful. The newlyweds enjoyed walking through the town again like they had done with Melody months ago, but this time the town was open.

"You're gonna need some new pants and shirts for your new job. You only have five suits, I think an extra pair or two of pants would be a good idea." Harper pointed to a men's clothing store as she noted this.

Data contemplated this for only a second before agreeing. They entered the store and Data began picking out and trying on various coloured shirts and pants. He normally didn't try on, since he could tell by just looking if things would fit. He did this now to humor his wife. Just thinking the word caused him to beam with joy. Wife.

"These pants are too long, Harper. They do not appear to have my size in this colour. You will have to pick another." Data held out the black pants with the glossy finish that she had picked out for him. She shook her head and would not take the pants back.

"If they fit in the waist, then I can hem them for you. I'm the not greatest at sewing, but I can do that much." She waved her hand at Data indicating for him to retain possession of the garment.

Data gave her a quizzical look. "There are other selections, Harper. We can choose from one of them. Altering these is not necessary."

Harper smiled. Data was in logical mode. "But I like these. You look wonderful in black. Very sexy. I'll hem them. After all, I have all that staying at home free time. I can work on getting used to being a wife again and having all those wifely duties." She raised her eyebrows for the last part of the phrase.

Data just seemed confused. "Wifely duties. Then I would have husbandly duties?" he asked.

She chuckled. "You bring home the bacon and I fry it up in the pan."

Data processed the reference. "Ah, I make the money and you spend it. But I also handle the finances. Should we not also allow for our personal strengths to reflect on our roles in this union?"

"That was an old stereotypical reference. I believe that in the old days, women weren't allowed to handle the money either. The man wouldn't believe that she could...I don't know...add. I've gotten used to you handling the bills, Jayden. I don't intend to try and take it over from you. I do handle most of the spending though. I was the one who suggested that we buy you new clothes."

"True. Then you would be the one to handle the...to market, to market to buy a fat pig?"

Harper chuckled. "Right! And then there is my most important wifely duty." She had a glitter in her eyes as she came closer to whisper in his ear. "Keeping my husband happy in the bedroom."

Data's eyebrows shot up. "I thought that traditionally, it was child bearing and care."

"Not applicable here."

"True. I suppose that is an acceptable substitute." He had a very silly grin on his face and was looking off into the distance...thinking.

"You seem to find that substitution pleasing, my husband." Harper took on a subtle but effective British accent as she spoke these words. She also slipped her arm through his.

Data looked into her eyes. "This sounds acceptable to me, highly acceptable, in fact. You told me I would grow tired of kissing you. You also hinted that our intimacy would lose some of its potency in time. I find that it has not happened for me." He drew her into his arms, even with the clothing draped over his right. "Has the act become tedious for you?" he asked her.

Harper looked shocked. "No! No! I love...making love with you. I love kissing you t-"

His mouth covering hers cut off the rest of her reply. Agreeing to her suggestion of hemming the too long pants, Data hurriedly purchased the clothing and pulled her out of the store, leading her back to their car and heading for their cabin. Data left the purchases in the car, but rushed his new bride inside and carried her up the stairs to the loft like bedroom. It was time to prove that she did not find him tedious.

Harper opened her eyes to see that the bedroom was dark. It was night. Moving only her eyes so she wouldn't wake Data, she focused on the clock on his bedside table. 9:12. What time had it been when Data had decided it was time for more honeymoon like behavior? She grinned at him. She lay just next to him and looked at the beautiful golden man that slept contented on his back. A bright smile graced his face. It seemed like he somehow knew she was awake. He rolled over and an arm seemed to be searching for her. She was not hard to find. Eyes still closed, he pulled her to him. She sighed happily and rolled so she could spoon with him. Data pulled her snuggly against his body. His naked body. His naked and aroused body...

~ How could he still be aroused? ~ she mused. ~ They had made love for hours! My wifely duties are going to be more difficult than I thought. I've married an insatiable man! ~

Something about their movements must have awaked him. He began kissing her neck after moving her hair aside.

"Am I gonna be able to walk after this honeymoon?" Harper asked with a laugh.

"What? Why would you ask that?" Data rolled her over to face him.

"Because you are relentless in your desire for sex lately. My tender human flesh is no match for yours." Harper reached up and caressed his cheek. But Data just looked mortified.

"I am hurting you?" he asked, the pain evident in his voice.

"No, sweet love. Not yet. I'm a little stiff in the muscles, but I get that way if I go to the gym sometimes. Don't you worry, love, I'm not going to let you hurt me. I'm not into that and I know how upset you would be if I did let you hurt me." Harper rolled over on top of him. The very thought of her being hurt had done away with Data's arousal. She intended to get it back.

Data's traveling for his job was to begin once he was properly trained in the new position. But then training Jayden Soong to do something never took long.

Harper was forced to tell her manager at the cooking store that she may not be available once Jayden began traveling during the week. Alex assured her that there would always be room for her on the weekly schedule. Harper intended to try to work during the weekends when she and Jayden were home. Data wouldn't like that one bit, but Harper had decided he would just have to get over it! She would be spending all week with him, so he couldn't complain about their time together.

A condo was rented for the duration of the year contract that Com-Tech had with the company they were working with. The place was furnished and stocked with most of the things the couple would need, but some things would have to be purchased.

They arrived with Sadie at 6:09. San Fernando was already quite warm this time of year and Harper was doing her best not to drip sweat as she followed Data up the stairs to their new part-time home. Sadie was just glad to be out of her cage.

"It has air conditioning, right?" Harper asked as she dropped her purse and bag in the foyer. "Please God, tell me it has air!"

Data turned around and gave her a confused expression that faded as soon as he noted how much she was...glistening.

"Yes, my wife. It is complete with air, or we would not be able to breathe," he teased.

Harper smacked his backside playfully. "Alright, Mr. Comic! Stop the wise cracks and turn on the air conditioning before I melt like the wicked witch that I am."

Data grinned as he went to find the control to do just that.

The couple settled into the routine of commuting back and forth from California to Georgia even before the convention time rolled along. This weekend they did not return home, but did put Sadie up in a pet hotel while they took a room in the hotel where the convention was being held.

Data stood before the bathroom mirror studying his image just before they were to go down for their "in character" debut.

"It is an irony that I turn off my disguise to reveal that which everyone today will believe is makeup," he commented as Harper ran a comb through her hair. She was already in her uniform as well and from experience, Data knew she was seconds from announcing that she was as good as she was going to get. He disliked this comment, but had given up trying to stop her from using it.

"You sound nervous, Data," she noted, putting down the comb and reaching for his hand.

Data searched himself. As usual, his wife was correct. "I suppose I am," he admitted. "It is not every day one meets oneself."

Harper took his golden face in her hands. "He is not you, sweet boy!"

"No, he simply plays me on television," Data finished with a raised eyebrow. "Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that Mr. Spiner is my creator of a sort, in this timeline."

Harper sighed and leaned against the sink, stared at Data. "I guess in a way you could say that between Spiner and Gene Roddenberry, "Data" was created. I know that most people give Spiner a great deal of the credit, and rightly so, for breathing life into the character." She pushed off of the counter and moved to kiss her husband.

Data brought up a finger to stop her. "Please. You will smudge my makeup." He looked serious.

"What!" Harper asked, thrown off by this ridiculous statement.

"It is what you will have to remember once we leave this room. You will not be able to touch any part of my skin since it will be believed to be covered in makeup." Data suddenly wondered if they would really be able to pull this charade off. Both he and Harper were quite accustomed to touching each other. It would even be difficult to not take her hand as they walked together.

"Okay but that doesn't apply yet. Now kiss me, mister!"

Data gave her a distracted sigh, but did pull her close. Harper could tell his heart was just not in this kiss.

The couple didn't have to wait long before attention was drawn to them, or more accurately, Data. In the elevator ride down to the area where the convention was being held, other convention goers joined them. A rather large man and a petite red headed woman got in at the fifth floor and instantly gaped at Data in awe.

"Holy shit! Is that a mask?" the woman asked even before the doors to the elevator closed.

"Damn! That can't be a mask...too real looking." The man followed up this comment by looking at Data around the neck as though searching for a place that a mask could have gone on.

"You are correct. It is not a mask...this is my natural skin colour." Data was hesitant to say this, but he doubted he would be believed even while telling this truth.

Harper chuckled from beside Data and the other two people soon followed her lead. They assumed by her laughter that Data was, of course, joking but neither he nor Harper would dream of correcting this assumption.

"Are you planning on entering the costume contest? You'd place for sure! You plan that because the actor...ah, Spinner, yeah, because he's here?" the woman asked.

"Mr. Spiner is a contributing factor in my appearance here, yes," Data admitted, calmly.

"Damn, I'd love to have a picture of you and him next to each other. That would rock! Man, I've never seen a costume so good and makeup that good outside of a movie." The man was still half-heartedly looking for a mask line.

"Thank you," was all Data could think to say.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Data took Harper's hand and hurried her away for the other couple. They did not make it very far.

While there were many other folks who had also dressed for the convention, none had a StarFleet uniform as authentic as Data's and none even remotely resembled a character from the show. As Data and Harper walked through the huge lobby of the beautiful hotel, almost every head in the place turned to gape at Data.

"You may want to get that stick out, Data. From the looks of the girls in this crowd, you may need it right about now." Harper had seen several jaws drop at the sight of him and considering Harper had long been a fan of Data's looks too, she understood why. ~ He has the sexiest, most confident walk! It's enough to make any woman drool. ~

Data stopped dead in his tracks, turning to stare blankly at his wife. After a pause, he looked over the crowd and noticed that a few were moving in towards him. None seemed to be looking at Harper.

A look of extreme discomfort came over Data's face. "What should we do?" he asked.

"Run, or bask in the glow of your 15 minutes of fame, my love." Harper grinned.

"A StarFleet officer does not run!" he told her, with a sigh.

"Bet by the time this is over, you'll wish they did!" Harper teased just as two girls, one in a Cat Woman outfit and one dressed as a sorceress, approached them.

"Excuse me, but we just have to tell you how much we love your costume!" bubbled Catwoman.

"Yeah, you look just as sexy as the real Data ever did!" said the sorceress, shamelessly eyeing Data up and down. "Can we take a picture?" The sorceress produced a camera from the folds of her long green hooded cape and looked at Data, waiting for permission.

Looking for his wife's consent, Data nodded. The sorceress took his picture twice, but then asked if they could be in one with him. Harper offered to take the picture so they both could be in it, but she was unnerved when they whispered to each other and then when they moved to either side of Data. Just as Harper was about to snap the picture, the women both turned to plant a kiss on each of Data's cheeks.

Data's eyes went wide at their action and Harper didn't look pleased either, but the women grabbed the camera and disappeared back into the crowds just as five more came to take their place. Harper finally suggested that Data stay with his adoring fans and she would go check into when and where Brent Spiner would be appearing. With a sigh of mournful resignation, Data agreed.

The booklet they had received at sign in said Spiner would be here, but had noted that the time and place would be announced on Friday. It referred to a special area that had been sectioned off to handle the big name guest stars and was guarded. Harper headed here and found a crowd of people looking for the same information she was.

Brent Spiner was listed for two appearances. One in a large auditorium and one, a more intimate affair, where he would answer questions. The times for both were listed. The first, the one in the bigger room would be today at 4:00 and the smaller one, tomorrow at 3:00. It was also noted that admittance to the one tomorrow was only permitted for those who held four day, gold passes. Only 300 of these had been allotted and Data had made damn sure he and Harper had two of them.

With a copy of the listing and room locations, Harper made her way back to where Data was still being mobbed. Oddly, he seemed to be almost enjoying the attention he was receiving now. He politely shook everyone's hand, answered questions, as best he could without lying, and smiled for many pictures. Harper was pleased that no one seemed to notice Data's name badge and comment on it.

It was another twenty minutes before Harper decided Data had had enough of the limelight and announced to the crowd that Commander Data had to go have lunch now. There were a few comments that androids don't require food, but everyone laughed at that and just began moving along.

Over lunch, Harper showed Data the update on when Spiner was scheduled and Data was pleased.

"I will wait until the more private function to approach him," Data decided.

"I think you should make an entrance, sweetness. Let me go in and save you a seat and then once it's began, you come in...you'll knock his socks off." Harper winked at Data, who looked intrigued by this suggestion.

The closer 4:00 got, the more excited Data became. They went in early to get good seats in the auditorium at 3:24, as soon as the guest who preceded Mr. Spiner concluded her talk. The lights went up and some workers came in to clean up left drinks and trash. The room began to fill with Spiner fans very quickly and this meant that Data's presence did not go unnoticed. Some even asked if he was Brent Spiner and Harper had to laugh at that. More hands were shaken and more pictures taken until the house lights went down and the man they had all been waiting for walked on the stage.

Mr. Spiner had his gray hair cut rather short, and had on glasses. He wore faded blue jeans and a navy blue shirt, tucked in. Harper sighed at her first sight of him. Data looked fascinated, but took a second out to give his wife a reproachful grimace.

"You are married, and he is attached, do not entertain any ideas regarding your room key and that man!" Data warned. Harper laughed and laced her fingers with his.

"Oh, it can't hurt to just...fantasize," she teased and laughed harder when Data began looking through her pockets for her copy of their key.

With his arms possessively around his wife's shoulders, Data watched the actor on the stage in rapt attention. Data was surprised how amusing he was. But the slant of Spiner's humor struck Data as odd.

"In numerous ways, he reminds me of Lore," Data whispered to Harper.

"His humor?" she asked.

"And how well and how often he...smirks."

Harper looked at Data and grinned. "You've been getting awfully good at that smirk too, brother of Lore," she informed him with a wink.

Data just gave her in indignant expression.

Even with his internal chronometer activated, the forty-five minute show seemed to fly by for Data. As Mr. Spiner, thanking everyone for coming, waved and left the stage, Harper groaned with disappointment and Data was tempted to groan too. Instead, the couple made a hasty retreat to their hotel room to talk about what they had seen. The rest of the day, Data used his Jayden holo-disguise and the couple was bothered a lot less.

They had a nice dinner after a leisurely walk through the streets of downtown Sacramento, still discussing the various things they had seen and still wished to see. Even as he was, Data and Harper were still stopped a few times with the "Are you Brent Spiner?" question. A few times Data answered, "No, I am simply an artificial life-form from another timeline. Sorry to disappoint you."

Harper was tempted to kick him each time he did this to the stunned strangers. "Lore!" she kept whispering in his ear.

Once evening had come, Harper was near exhaustion. She told Data if he had not joined her in the shower, she would have taken a bath and most likely, also would have fallen asleep there. He told her that was not possible, as he intended to see that she never took a bath again.

"I take it I'm not allowed to go swimming either?" Harper asked with a yawn.

"In a pool that does not have a water depth over three feet and only if I am there with you at all times," he told her firmly.

Harper grinned and wrapped her arms around her husband's waist. "Jayden Soong in swim trucks? I like the sound of that!" She winked suggestively at him, but also yawned again.

"Time to sleep, Harper. I need you well rested for tomorrow." Data turned the shower off and helped his tired wife out of the tub. It took no argument to get her into bed tonight. However, Data doubted that she would last to the lovemaking.

She surprised him and pulled him into her arms, kissing his with passion. Realizing that Harper didn't want to disappoint him, Data did the best he could to make this an abbreviated session. Harper caught on, but she went along with him since she was indeed very tired. She was snoring beside Data just moments after he rolled over to take her into his arms. Data kissed her on her temple and wished her sweet dreams.

Data was standing outside of their room, on the small balcony, looking out at the sleeping city. The nervous excitement had gripped him again, so he came here to let Harper sleep.

"Thinking of taking up smoking, Data?"

There was a flash of light and Q stood beside Data, leaning over the railing, staring down at the city lights.

"Why would I wish to do that? I could endanger Harper if I were to smoke in front of her." Data looked over to grimace at the omnipotent being.

Q turned around and moving the curtain, peeked into the hotel room at the sleeping form of Harper Soong.

"You'd do anything for her, wouldn't you?" Q asked, looking back at Data.

"Was that not your intent?" Data asked, challengingly. "Harper has suggested that she believed you placed me here in order to cause me to fall in love with her."

"Ridiculous." Q waved the idea away with a hand. "I could have left you on the Enterprise if that was my goal. You fell for her all on your own, Data. I actually hoped you wouldn't. Marrying her has put a crimp in my plans for you. I may have chosen better than I anticipated. You get along too well with her." Q turned to take a second peek through the curtain. "She is a shapely female, isn't she?"

Data pulled the curtains from Q's hand and closed them, his agitation clearly written all over his face. "If your intent was not for me to find love, was it for her to move forward with her life?"

Q laughed. "My purpose here was you, my possessive friend, not her." Q sighed. "If she's not going to help, I may have to take drastic measures. Hmm..."

Just as Data was about to reach for the being to insist Q leave Harper and him alone, Q vanished in his flash of light. Data almost growled in frustration. Data decided to take a brief walk on the street, hoping it would help to settle his mind, but it didn't seem to work well. Fear that Q would do something to him or Harper still plagued Data. He returned to the room and kept watch over his bride, suddenly needing to reassure himself that she was still there and stayed that way. He had been gone for over an hour, but Harper had not seemed to even move. At 4:27, his watchful eye must have caught her attention, even in her sleep.

Reaching over in the bed to Data's side, Harper stirred when she found it empty. She could feel him near. She opened her eyes and looked for him. Sitting up, she saw him sitting in a chair across from the bed.

"What's wrong?" Harper asked, holding her arms out to Data.

"Why do you think something is wrong?" he asked. How did she always know more than she should? Maybe she was not as innocent and naïve as he had always believed.

"Because you're upset. I can feel it. The whole room is dripping with your upset." Harper got out of bed and moved towards him in the dark. Data watched the silk of her nightgown cling to her body as she moved closer to him.

"Emotion is not a tangible thing. You speak as though it were, Harper." His tone did little to convince her that she was wrong about her conclusion.

Harper walked behind his chair and leaned over the back, wrapping her arms around her angry love. She snuggled into his cheek, feeling more and more of Data's frustrations as she did. She ran her hands over his chest, nuzzling his ear and then kissing him there. She continued to kiss the side of his face until he released an audible sigh. Coming over, Harper sat in his lap and wrapped her arms around him. Leaning into his chest, she smiled when Data pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her.

"Tell me," Harper instructed, softly.

"Q appeared," Data began ominously. Harper sat up and looked around the dark room. "He is not here. But he was disturbing when he was."

Harper looked almost terrified at this, but when Data repeated his conversation between himself and Q, it didn't help make her feel better.

"That sounds like he's planning on coming back and taking you with him when he does," Harper observed. Data could not disagree.

"I will not go willingly. I have a place here, a life...I do not wish to go." He still sounded angry, and this led Harper to believe there was more to this than she knew.

"You sound just like you did in First Contact." She grabbed his face and looked him in the eyes as best she could in the low light. "Were you upset before Q came?"

Data surprised her by pushing her off of his body and coming to a stand, leaving her still in the chair. He walked across to the desk and turned on a small lamp so Harper could see him. He then looked at her as her eyes adjusted to the new light. He stalked across the room at her. Harper's eyes got wide in reaction to his fierce expression.

"We are hours away from meeting the man who stands as proof that I am not real. Now, Q comes to tell me his plan is not working out. At the same time, he leers at you. Why did he pick you, Harper? Are you Q?"

"You are crazy! If I were Q, would I have let that maniac attack me? Would I have let that fire start and BURN my DAUGHTER?" Data was close to her, so she leaned forward until she was almost nose-to-nose with him. "Now what do you mean by Spiner proving you aren't real?" she huffed.

"I exist in this reality as a fiction, a character in a science fiction television show. Spiner plays that character. Is this not akin to meeting one's self in an alternate timeline? It is not supposed to be possible. Perhaps I am dreaming all of this. Or perhaps you are the one who had created this illusion and I have failed-"

"I can't believe this! You still don't really trust me? We became lovers and you didn't believe? You married me and you still don't believe? What do I have to do to convince you, son of Soong? DIE?" Harper was shouting by the end of this and this hadn't gone unnoticed. The couple heard banging on their wall from an angry neighbor.

Data looked from the wall to Harper. Her chest was heaving from her angry shouting and her temper was obviously still in high gear. She glared at him.

The fear that had been building in Data seemed to be boiling over. Something about seeing Spiner today had frightened him. It had excited him and caused his curiosity to explode at first, but later his scientific mind had gone over the facts of temporal mechanics and come up with suppositions that pointed to it being improbable for both Spiner and Data to exist in any reality. Q's appearance had reminded Data how the omnipotent being was manipulating many things, but he had also caused Data to worry about the chances that Q would truly allow him to remain with Harper for her lifetime or perhaps take her with him to his.

The growing panic took control and Data moved to sit on the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped and head hanging.

Harper allowed her fury to drained away to a soft burn. Confused, she came to stand in front of Data, waiting for him to speak.

For several minutes, Data just sat there in silence. Harper waited.

"We have teased about our being mentally unbalanced...you have told me that if you lost me, you would...break. I too, do not believe I would survive your loss, Harper." Data's words were slow and measured. His head remained lowered.

"I'm going to die one day, Data, whether you're taken from me or not. I'm not Q, I wouldn't want to be that arrogant." Her tone was softer, but still had an edge.

Data looked at her, amused just slightly at some of her words, filled with dread by the others. "I can accept your death from old age. If I live past the events portrayed in Nemesis, I will eventually see my friends and comrades from the Enterprise age and die. I do not relish that prospect, but I can accept that it is part of...life." Data stood and took hold of her shoulders. "I cannot bear to entertain the possibility that I will be forced to leave you prematurely."

Harper studied his face for a moment before replying. "Is this a panic attack, Data? Something about seeing Brent got under your skin and Q just made it worse?"

"Perhaps," Data conceded after a moment of consideration.

Harper sighed. "I think you can relax. I think I know what he was talking about...well, sort of." Harper looked uncertain as she pulled Data back to the bed and sat down with him. "Do you think that Q could enter someone's dreams?" she asked.

Data processed for a moment. "I do not believe so. I have seen no indication of Q's being able to read our minds or enter them. Why?"

She thought a moment. "Because I wondered if maybe he had come to me in a dream. Did you leave the room tonight, Data?"

Data looked guilty. "Yes. I was upset. I went for a walk. What happened, Harper?"

"I think he was here, I mean, came back to talk to me while you were gone. Maybe he hoped to make me believe it was a dream and influence me that way." She still looked uncertain.

"What did he say, Harper? Do you remember?" Data asked urgently.

"Well, I think I remember most of it... He told me I wasn't following his game plan like he thought I would. He said I needed to see just how far you were falling short of being human. I needed to push you to accept your limitations while you were here and that you need to get used to being only human...he was mumbling then..." Harper seemed to be struggling to remember clearly what was said. "But I swear...he said that you only had fifty three years to learn this lesson, so you'd better hurry." Harper's eyes met Data's. "I think you may have been right, edgy man. Q means for you to stay here until I'm gone!" Harper's eyes were wide with shock and delight, but she was still unprepared for Data's fast grabbing of her body to press it to his.

"I hope you are right. I do not intend to be an edgy man, but this has caused me a great deal of distress over the last few months," Data admitted.

"So, you decided I must be a Q?" she asked, still a little irked over that.

Data pulled back and looked guilt ridden. "I claim temporary insanity. The thought of losing you causes that in me."

Slowly a grin spread across her face. "I'm not sure I buy that, but it's a good line, so I'll let it pass. Better now?" she asked. Data nodded. "Good, hold me, kiss me and help me get back to sleep. I need more sleep than what I got!"

A glint entered Data's eyes. "I have an idea on how to help you get back to sleep, Harper," he told her.

"I just bet you do," she said with a knowing smile and flicked the spaghetti strap off her left shoulder with a suggestive smile.

"Are you sure you are not telepathic?" Data teased as he moved to kiss her.

"Only in this one area, and I can only lock on to men with a certain shaped nose. Do you want me to tell you how often Brent Spiner thought about sex tonight?" she teased.

"No!" Data answered and playfully slapped her butt before pulling her back on the bed with him.

Since they had nowhere they needed to be until 3:00, Data let Harper sleep in as long as she needed. He enjoyed the feel of her in his arms and just held her close as she slept. He wondered if Q had inadvertently been trying to show Data that his suspicions were correct so Data could relax into his life here. He wondered at the other things Q had said to Harper, but decided they were not of as much importance. He was stuck here, and now, Data could not be happier.

They went to breakfast, the art show, and went to see the blooper reel from Star Trek the original series. Data found himself laughing right along with the others in the audience and Harper was pleased that anything could distract him from his nervousness over the impeding meeting of Brent Spiner. She held his hand tightly and leaned into Jayden's shoulder, laughing along with him.

At 2:00, the couple headed for their hotel room to change from their street clothes into their costumes and Jayden turned off his holo-disguise, becoming Data again.

"There's my sexy android love!" Harper said, beaming at him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"One day, you must explain to me what it is about me and Spiner that you find sexy. I still do not understand." Data cocked his head to the side and Harper watched him consider the question, yet again.

"Do you find me sexy?" she asked. Data was still not the best with a compliment, but she didn't really care.

"Yes."

"Well, I find you sexy for the male reasons that you find me sexy...if you like breasts, I like chests...got it?" she asked.

Data sighed. "It is not body parts that I find desirable...though yours are not undesirable. We will need to discuss this but now we do not have the time." Data kissed Harper before they put on their boots and left the room.

So they could make it to the room where Spiner was scheduled to appear, Data was forced to allow Harper to bluntly dissuade people from stopping him for pictures and the like. It seemed to take forever before they arrived just outside the room, but Data was glad that there was a little corner he could hide behind while he waited for the right moment to enter. They showed their passes in order to enter the area and after giving Data a quick kiss, Harper ducked into the room to get seats.

Harper was on the edge of her seat as she waited for the moment to finally arrive. Her hands were shaking and her stomach was doing flip-flops, but at least she got to sit. She wondered if Data ever got weak in the knees from excitement.

There was a table on a slightly raised platform with a few chairs behind it, a pitcher of water and a few cups. One of the convention organizers came in to pour Mr. Spiner a glass of the water and then announced him. The room was filled to capacity minus one as everyone who was sitting got to their feet and began clapping as Spiner finally made his long awaited entrance.

Harper remained standing after the applause died down. She already had her question. Spiner spoke for a few minutes, but seeing her standing there, took her question early.

"Anxious, aren't you?" Spiner asked, addressing her with Lore's grin.

"Very much so," Harper replied.

"Okay go ahead, but remember, no questions about Star Trek or my personal life. Anything else is fair game."

Harper had heard this line from him before, so she knew he was joking and so did most of the others here as it drew laughter. Harper just steadied herself and opened her mouth to ask the question her and Data had planned.

"Have you ever run across someone who looked so much like you, they could be your twin?"

Spiner, who seemed to be expecting the normal questions that he had been asked a million times over, looked surprised for a moment. He recovered quickly and brought his finger to his nose, touching the bridge and grinning.

"Exactly like me? Isn't that what keeps plastic surgeons in business?" The room exploded in laughter, but that turned to gasps of shock as Harper turned towards the door and Data made his grand entrance.

Harper looked back at Spiner quickly to catch his reaction. She was pleased to see that his beautiful blue eyes were just as wide as everyone else's.

As Data made his way into the room and up the aisle that divided the room in half, a young woman in the isle jumped up and touched Data's arm. "Oh my God, he's so sexy!" she gasped and tried to pull Data back to her.

Data turned and bestowed an appreciative smile her way. "Thank you," he said, politely, but that didn't seem to satisfy the young women. She tried to pull Data closer and Harper realized that this girl was trying to kiss Data! Harper wanted to shout at the girl, but Data, being Data, took care of the situation in his polite way.

With a finger raised between himself and the lips that were leaning in, he shook his head. "I am sorry, young lady, but I cannot accommodate you. I am already spoken for." Data gently removed the now pouting woman's hands from his person and continued his trek up the aisle.

At his approach, Spiner got to his feet, still looking somewhat dazed by all of this. Data held out his hand to the actor and after a moment of studying Data's face, Spiner took it for the handshake.

"It's nice to meet you...ah..." Spiner looked down at Data's nametag and then looked more confused. "...Jayden Soong?" he said with a question heavy in the words.

The audience tittered at this revelation. One jumped to his feet and called out, "You changed your name?"

Data turned to look at this young man and shrugged. "I needed a last name...Soong seemed the logical choice and I was encouraged not to use my real name for my first name. Do you believe I should have stayed with 'Data'?" he asked. There were more titters across the room.

"Jayden?" said a woman near the back of the room. "Isn't that the name that Data used in the episode, 'Thine Own Self'? Why did you pick that one? I thought Data didn't remember the events that took place when he was with those people."

Data looked over to Harper. Harper turned in her chair and looked back at the woman. "That was my idea. I like the name and the episode was wonderful, except for the parts with Troi becoming a commander and outranking Data," Harper sighed heavily with disgust and many around the room murmured their agreement.

"What name did you have before?" Spiner asked Data, not buying the truth.

Data furrowed his brows in confusion. "Data," he replied. The room was filled with laughter yet again.

Spiner sighed, but again began to study Data's face. In a quick motion, the man touched Data's face with a finger and then looked at his fingertip in surprise. "It's not make up?" he asked, stunned.

"No, I was forced to wear makeup when I first arrived here in your timeline, but I found a more practical method of disguise with the help of my then housemate and I now employ the use of a holographic disguise when I wish to appear human."

Spiner gave Data a patronizing smile. "So you're trying to convince me and all these fine people here that you really are Data?" he asked. The laughter around the room was a little nervous sounding this time.

"No, I wish merely to convince you." Data now turned to face Spiner in a way that cut off the view of everyone else in the room and activated only part of his holo-disguise. For a moment, Spiner stared into eyes that were as sparkling blue as his own. The moment passed and Data returned his eyes to their normal yellow colour.

Spiner looked about to fall over. With a nervous laugh, he moved to retake his chair. "Good trick...well...it was nice to meet you...Data...I'd better get back to our adoring fans and...give them their money's worth."

With a nod, Data turned from the actor and made his way to the seat that Harper was saving from him. Every eye in the place followed him.

The session proceeded, though some of the questions were directed to Data. Since Spiner nodded to the android, Data told the crowd that he still had his emotion chip and that he was not dead and was going to try very hard to stay that way.

"Have you seem Nemesis?" one man asked Data.

"Yes, I went to see it on opening night with my wife."

"Did you like it?"

"All but...my end. I think I would have easily been able to avoid that outcome and still have saved the captain and what was left of the Enterprise and her crew."

"Why aren't you dead now?" a woman asked. "For a walking dead man...android, you sure look good." She winked at Data, suggestively, but Data just took hold of Harper's hand, knowing she would need to be calmed. He was right, of course.

"I was pulled out of my time to your timeline by Q to learn a lesson of some sort. When I left, it was just eight months, two weeks and three days from the time the Enterprise had encountered and defeated the Borg when they attempted to change Earth's history." The old pain that had once haunted Data's face seemed to have returned at the mention of this time, so Harper looked pleadingly at Mr. Spiner and thankfully, he pulled the questions back to him so Data was not asked about his time with the Borg Queen.

Once again, the time seemed to melt away and Spiner was leaving the room with a wave and a warm smile. Data and Harper stood with the rest and clapped as Spiner made is departure. It took a great effort to get Data out of that room without being mobbed since he didn't have the benefit of security and couldn't use any of his android strength to pull the women off him. Harper did use the adrenaline rush she was having at the sight of more women trying to kiss her husband, and pulled them off, warning them that she was a very jealous and protective wife.

Once they finally made it to their room, Data watched as Harper collapsed on the bed. Kicking off his boots, he joined her there, taking her into his arms.

"Do you think he believed me?" Data asked.

"Spiner? He looked pretty stunned, but I don't know," Harper admitted. It was after they had ordered up a lunch for Harper and made love twice before they got a call to their room.

It was Brent Spiner.

He wanted to meet with Jayden Soong in private, so they invited him to their room and hurried to reassemble the bed so it didn't look like they had been doing what they had been doing. Data and Harper both changed into street clothes and just kissed tenderly as they waited for the knock on the door.

Harper led Spiner into the room where he was confronted with the sight of Data...looking like Data, but in jeans and a blue oxford shirt, sitting on the side of the bed. Harper moved to sit next to her husband.

"I see you left the makeup on. Are you planning on ever taking it off or will you after the convention?" Spiner asked, taking off his hat and sunglasses that hid his identity. He took the seat that Harper motioned to.

"I realize that I should most likely offer you an alcoholic beverage before I do this, but I am who I say I am. Lt. Commander Data. My disguise is holographic, as I said it was. This is my normal appearance. This is not..." Without moving a finger, Data switched on the holo-disguise selection that he had never deleted. Brent Spiner jumped to his feet and looked in shock...at himself. The hair was longer and the outfit different, but Spiner seemed to recognize it at once. It was the shot he got the most requests for.

Harper was ready for this and handed the breathless actor a beer that she had opened for him, encouraging him to retake his seat and take a long drink of the beer. Spiner thanked her absently and did as she suggested, draining the bottle quickly.

Data sighed, slightly insulted.

Harper returned to him shaking her head. "I don't understand why you take this as an insult," she admonished her husband.

"Why does everyone I tell need alcohol before they can acclimate to the knowledge that I am Data!!??" he asked, with a grumble.

"Because it's not an easy thing to just accept, sweet boy."

Data grimaced at her. "We are back to 'sweet boy'?"

Spiner spoke up here. "It bothers you to be called sweet?" he asked, looking even more confused. Harper got up to take his now empty bottle and replace it with a full one.

"She only refers to me using that term of endearment when I am angry." Data watched as Harper opened a second beer for the actor and handed it to him. Spiner looked from Data to Harper and gave her a lingering once over before nodding his thanks. "My wife takes great pride in seeing to my emotional health, as Counselor Troi once did."

It didn't escape Harper's notice that Data gave the word 'wife' careful emphasis in that statement. She looked over at him and rolled her eyes. Data ignored her.

"You two are married? Can you turn that...hologram off, please?" Spiner asked and Data nodded to both questions, returning his appearance to normal.

"When Q brought me here, I appeared in Harper's home. She took care of me and helped me to cope with your reality. We became friends and then...more." Data looked fondly at his wife who returned to his side. He laced his fingers with hers.

"So you've had sex with him?" Spiner asked, looking at Harper. A second later he hit his own forehead with his hand. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I just asked that...I take it back," he said, his voice full of embarrassment and apology.

"I understand why you asked." Harper said, mildly. "Data's been curious about you from the moment he discovered your existence, and that you played his character. He was quite miffed at you for some of the things portrayed in the movies, but I think he's gotten over that, but he still wanted more than anything to meet you. I tried to convince him it wasn't a good idea, but he can be very hardheaded."

"I still can't...well...I wonder if I'm dreaming all this. But I guess I'm not upset you told me, but it's just so impossible. I mean...Q? I guess I would be hard pressed to convince anyone else of this, wouldn't I?" the actor asked.

"I would request that you refrain from trying," Data suggested. "I have an established life here in your timeline and it is our belief that I will remain here for some time. If you reveal me, I may be destroyed and Harper could be injured in the process. My purpose, though most likely too late, would be to convince you out of keeping my character dead, if that is possible. I have much to live for in this time and in my original timeline. I ask you to consider this if you are offered the chance to portray me again."

Spiner looked taken aback, but this was something that Harper had expecting so she just stared compassionately at the actor.

"Is Q going to take you back?" Spiner asked.

"Not for many years, I believe. I have a lesson I am to learn from Harper, but we are not sure what type of lesson he had in mind. I regret if I have caused you distress, Mr. Spiner, but this was something I needed to do. I have been compelled to meet you and convince you that your actions in this universe, have an effect on mine."

Spiner sat back in his chair, drank the last of his second beer and nodded slowly. "I'll keep that in mind. I...ah...well, I guess I should go." He slowly got to his feet and so did Data and Harper. The actor extended his hand slowly towards Harper. "Thanks for the beer and...it was nice to meet you...Mrs...Data?"

"Mrs. Soong...Harper Soong. It was very nice to meet you, too. Wonderful to meet you!" she stressed, shaking his hand and blushing. "You're my favorite actor and I've seen just about everything you've done and I hope to see more. It was such an honor-"

"Harper," Data interrupted, gently, but firmly. Harper blushed deeply and released the actor's hand, reluctantly.

"You're not the only one who wanted to meet him, Data. He is the only human male on the face of this planet that I find sexy," Harper reminded her husband, grinning at Spiner, embarrassed that she had actually admitted that.

Spiner turned to shake Data's hand and grinned, his sense of humor returning to him. "I guess she has a thing for guys with big noses. I'd warn you against ever taking her to see the play about Cyrano de Bergerac, if I were...you." Spiner gave Data his best smirk and winked at Harper, causing her to sigh.

"Thank you, Mr. Spiner...I believe I will heed that advice. She can be too flirtatious at times, for my peace of mind."

"Good luck, I hope you...learn whatever it is that Q wants you to learn...I think...Bye." And with that, the man was gone.

Harper sighed again as the man closed their hotel room door and Data turned her around to face him. He lifted their hands and showed her their wedding rings.

"Married...you are MY wife, remember?" Data grimaced.

Harper laughed. "I just like him...no one but him and he isn't you, but....he's close. I love you, Data, I just think he has a cute butt."

"That does not reassure me, Harper."

Harper laughed and pushed her husband on the bed, knowing what would help to convince him. Data had no objections to this.

The years passed, but they were happy, love filled years. Melody married and had twin boys followed three years later by a beautiful daughter. Harper noted as the boys grew the more they looked like Robin.

While Data used the extensive knowledge he had on medicine from his time to prolong his wife's life, she did grow old. Data caused his holo-image of Jayden to age along with her, but Harper refused to allow him to modify his true appearance...much.

Still the day came when Mrs. Jayden Soong slipped from this world as Data held her. Harper was 89 years old when her heart stopped beating, breaking the heart of an android.

Melody and Data put Harper Talenger Soong to rest in the grave that had been reserved for her beside Robin. The headstone read "Harper Talenger Soong, Beloved mother to Melody and cherished wife to Robin and Jayden."

The funeral was hard for both Melody and Data. They cried a great deal. Once the coffin was lowered into the ground, Data was almost lost in his grief. He had already talked to Melody about what would happen once Harper past away. He made sure Harper's will left everything to Melody and all of their accounts now only reflected Harper's name. Melody and her family would be well provided for. But Data realized that very soon, he would no longer be a stepfather...or a grandfather to Melody's children.

"What happens now, Data?" Melody asked her stepfather, holding on to his strong arm.

"I wait for Q to return me to my own time, I would assume," he told her, still looking at the headstone that bore his wife's name.

"I'll miss you. It's like I'm losing you both...I am losing you both." Melody's voice caught as she realized this. She hugged Data's arm tighter. Data patted her hand fondly.

They talked for a few more moments, but her family was waiting in the car and it was a cold winter's day. The wind blew fiercely as Melody hugged Data tightly for the last time. She kissed his cheek, told him she would always love him for what a wonderful father he had been to her and would never forget him. Data watched her hair blow wildly as she ran to her car and her family...and out of his life.

It was near dusk when Q finally appeared. Data was just as Melody had left him, standing before Harper's grave, grieving.

"Do you see what I was trying to teach you, my friend?" Q said in a voice that came close to compassionate.

Data looked over at him. "No, I still do not. I thank you for allowing me to have all...I had with Harper, but I do not understand..." Data looked back at her grave and fell silent.

"Don't you see it, Data? Here, with her, you were forced to live like a human; you loved a human, looked like a human. You were a human. Why would you want to be like them? They're so frail and fragile. So short lived and small minded. You are not living up to your full potential by constantly moaning about not being human." Q looked at the grave and shook his head, disappointed. "I had such high hopes that you would take with you the lessons from this time back with you. I'd hoped that your Harper would teach you what you needed to know to move on with your life. What a pity. What a waste." Q brushed his hands together as though wiping dust away. He turned to face Data.

"Come my sad friend, let's get you home."

There was a flash and Q and Data stood in a solid white room.

"Where are we?" Data asked, confused.

"Oh, just in between. I forgot to ask you when you wanted to come back. I can't allow you to go back before you left, but I can put you right back there, if you wish. It can be like you never left." Q sounded like he could not have cared less what Data decided, yet at the same time, managed to sound like he was offering up such a wonderful gift.

"I do not wish it to be as though I never left." Data considered the matter for only a moment. "Three weeks," he said. "Bring me back three weeks after I left."

There was another flash and Data was on the bridge of the Enterprise-E, just to the right and behind, navigation. As soon as the flash of light that preceded him died away, everyone on the bridge turned or jumped to their feet. His name was shouted out from all sides. Data just stood there in his black suit and tie, still covered by the warm winter coat that Harper had bought him years ago as a half gag gift. After all, Data did not need a coat.

The captain, Commander Riker and Counselor Troi came up to the android and Deanna embraced him. She could feel a great deal of turmoil and pain emanating from her friend, along with other emotions, but she couldn't sort them all out just yet.

"What happened to you, Data? That looked like a flash from Q," Riker waited until Deanna had released Data to ask this.

"You are correct. Q...took me." Data looked from Will Riker to the face of his captain and then to the beautiful face of Deanna Troi. He had missed them all so much and for so long. He was happy to see them all again, but all of this was still overshadowed by the still fresh loss of Harper. Data had been gone for 54 years and to his friends it would have only been three weeks.

Compelled by the pain she saw behind Data's golden eyes, Deanna pulled on Data's arm, trying to lead him off the bridge. "You need soon time, Data. Come on, let's go talk for a minute." She headed for the observation lounge, but was disappointed that the captain and Will followed them in.

"I need a report from you, Data. What happened? Why were you gone so long? Why were you taken at all? You've been gone for twenty three days." Picard stood behind his chosen chair as Deanna sat Data in his usual one. Will crossed his arms across his chest and just listened.

"Captain, this may not be the best time-" Deanna interjected.

"We have a difficult mission ahead of us, Counselor. I need him. His absence would have seriously jeopardized this mission. If your emotions are troubling you at the moment, Mr. Data, I suggest you turn them off for now." The captain sounded unusually harsh.

"I cannot. I lost that ability many years ago, Captain." Data took a seat and hung his head. While he was pleased to be back aboard the Enterprise, his mourning overshadowed everything. Deanna pulled up a seat beside him and wrapped her arms around him. Something about her touch signaled a release for Data. He let the tears flow.

"The questions will have to wait, Captain. Commander Data is in no shape to answer them now." It was a rare thing for Deanna to use her authority as counselor to overrule the captain, but she did so now. She stood and pulled Data back to his feet. The captain and Riker watched in stunned silence as she guided the android out of the room. Geordi was dashing down the corridors, having heard of Data's return, but he too was left behind.

Deanna took Data to his quarters and sealed the door after them.

"She died in my arms four days ago."

"You need time to heal, Data. I still can't believe that you were gone for so long." Troi told him. Data sat on a couch and rubbed the fur of the cat that had apparently missed him very much. "Q was of the impression that I was not as fragile as the captain. I am not sure I concur with his assessment. I do not regret a moment I spent with Harper, but I do not feel strong. I feel very weak without her."

Deanna watched Data as he stared off, unfocused, thinking of a woman she had never met. He had been in love with and married to her for 53 years. Deanna wished she could have seen Data in love. The story was days in telling, but once Data had it out, he was able to collect himself enough to paint a mental image of his late wife in the counselor's mind. Data admitted that Q had brought many of Data's possessions from his life in the past, here, but he was not ready to share them just yet.

"It will take you some time, Data. We have three more weeks before we are due to arrive at the Time planet. Do you think you'll be ready to return to duty by then, Data?" the counselor asked.

"Yes," the sullen sounding android answered. He was thinking how he'd expected her to call him 'sweet boy'. When Troi left, Data remained on the couch until Spot was asleep. Geordi was coming by for dinner tonight. Too many people gave him odd looks if he left his quarters, so Data had requested they eat here. It may be early, but Data intended to plant the idea of the personal transporter unit in Geordi's mind tonight. After all, Data had a promise to keep.


	14. Chapter 14 Endings ONE and Two

Note: I had a hard time trying to decide how to end this story. I had two endings in mind but could not choose between them. My friend and editor, Takara, advised me that I did not need to choose between them. Why not just use them both. So I did. So here they are...hope you enjoy.... LS

Ending One-----

It took months of work with the counselor and several successful missions before Data felt anywhere near recovered from losing his wife. There were poker nights, plays, recitals and holodeck adventures with Geordi to keep Data busy. Harper was right about the historians wanting some of his time and detailed reports from him. When the details about how in Harper's world, all of them were characters in an entertainment recorded and transmitted on magnetic medium, was revealed, many were very insulted. Data recalled Brent Spiner drinking down his second beer to cope with the flip side of this information and wondered if any of his crewmates had also needed help to accept this knowledge.

Once the historians released him, Data began thinking about Harper's stories. When Data's traveling kept him separated from her, she returned to her writing to keep her company. She finally finished her stories and put them on the Internet. She was shocked at how well most were received, but still had only let Data read two of them.

Sitting behind his computer console in his quarters, Data removed Spot from the display screen for the fifth time this evening. Feeling whimsical, Data linked into the StarFleet Database and punched in a search for Lessa Barrows. This was the maiden name of the first girl Harper had linked Data with. The search came up empty seconds later. He proceeded to go through some of the other names his late wife had used, but all came up the same. Finally he decided to try the name from the story Harper had never allowed him to read, Teagan Shayza.

Data stared at the search results blinking at him a few seconds later. Teagan Shayza was studying to be a biochemist having graduated from StarFleet Academy a year ago. Data pulled up her file to see the young redheaded woman's image. She was quite pretty.

While Data had not been allowed to read the story, and had honored his wife's restriction, he did know that he was not supposed to meet Miss Shayza until after the events in the movie 'Nemesis' played out. All he had to do now was keep his promise and survive that day. Data made a mental note to have a second talk with Geordi about the personal transporter unit. He also decided it was time to learn as much about the Romulans as possible.

Many years ago Harper had been lamenting that she was useless to Data and wished she were Lessa. His soon-to-be-wife at the time had believed all she could do was write Data happy. Data had never given that claim another thought since in his eyes; Harper was all he needed to be happy. Now, looking at the history file of Teagan Shayza, Data wondered if his late wife did indeed write him happy. He had over a decade to wait before he found out, but as he thought of the arms that had once held him, Data knew he needed that time. He was not ready to love someone else. But the lesson he had taken from Harper Talenger Soong was that he was loveable and one day, he would love again.

Ending Two-----

It was not easy for Data to function with his crew again after so much had happened to him, but after some healing time, Data felt back in the groove. He was still seeing the counselor at least twice a month, however, six months later.

"Data, if you don't mind, I'd like to have my new assistant meet with you next time. I think I have helped you as much as I can with your grieving and a fresh opinion could be helpful to you." Deanna crossed to him, handing him a cup of tea.

Data accepted the tea and took a sip. Over the years he'd developed a fondness for it. "She is due to join the Enterprise when we reach Starbase forty-eight, correct?"

Deanna grinned. After all, how often was Data not correct? "I'll be training her for a few weeks, but after that I'll just be reviewing her reports and assisting if she feels she needs it." Deanna knew that Data was aware of Lt. Talen Leigh's record and the counselor filled in many blanks. She told Data how Talen was a friend of the family. "Seeing her again is going to make me feel old. She was a kid the last time I saw her."

Data looked confused, but realized what she meant only a second later. "You are not old, Counselor. You are a beautiful woman with many vital years ahead of you. Regardless of this woman's age, you should not allow it to influence your self-image."

Deanna sat back and gaped at him. Slowly a smiled curved her lips. "You had changed, Data. You've gained a certain wisdom about you." She felt her cheeks grow warm. "Now you're counseling the counselor."

"I only spoke the truth. I do not understand the female propensity for self-degradation, but I have learned some ways to combat it." Coming to a stand, Data held out his hand to Deanna. When she took it, he led her to a wall mirror. She looked at her image and his as Data stood behind her. "That..." He pointed to her reflection. "is a beautiful, intelligent and gifted woman. She is greatly valued by her captain and crewmembers, including myself. Should she doubt this again, I will supply her with a long list of others who will concur with my assessment." With that, Data turned a stunned counselor to face him and kissed her on the forehead. He released her and left her office with his sure strides.

Deanna stared at the door for several minutes, still shocked. Data had changed so much, yet in some ways not at all. He was still sweet and thoughtful. He was still the most dependable and had more integrity than most people she knew, but he was no longer so lost in the ways he used to be. Data was centered. Love had found him and brought him peace. The loss of that love had shaken Data to his foundation, but Data was slowly rebuilding it. Glancing back at her reflection, Deanna saw the flush still in her cheeks.

"I believe in you too, Data and my list would be even longer than yours."

While the new counselor came board three weeks ago, Data had not felt the need of her services. His duties and friends kept Data very busy. He was so busy he had not even met the woman. It was not until a late evening when he visited the lounge for a change of scenery that he came in contact with her.

Data went to one of the large windows and watched the stars fly by. After decades without this sight, it was a novelty again.

"You're Commander Data, aren't you?" asked a voice from behind him. She stood far enough to his left that her reflection couldn't be seen in the window.

"Yes," Data replied, taking a final look at the stars.

"I'm beginning to think you're avoiding me, Commander. Should I be insulted?"

Data turned to face the woman calmly, but at the sight of her, he felt as though he'd been hit with the force of a phaser beam. The face that smiled up at him looked so much like Harper; this young woman could have been her twin.

Doing his best to recover and not fall backwards, Data shook his head at her. "I assure you, I have not been avoiding you. Are you the Counselor's assistant?" he asked. There had not been a picture attached to her file.

"Yes. Talen Leigh. Oh! I forgot about the mess up with my records. Somehow mine got linked with a picture of my Andorain classmate, Krip. They forwarded a new set. If you look now, my picture's there." Leigh explained.

Data did not want to look now. Just this one sighting of her was more than enough. Her hair was shorter than Data had ever seen Harper wear hers, but the resemblance everywhere else was eerie. The burning hunger for the touch he missed so much overwhelmed Data.

"I see. I will check it at my first opportunity. I must bid you goodnight, Lieutenant. I have the night watch." The night watch did not begin for two more hours, but Data did not mention that as he made good his escape.

The android made sure he was even busier than before following that evening. He was careful to avoid the assistant counselor at all costs. He maintained a high degree of success until the young woman caught on.

Talen spoke to Deanna, but her friend was unable to offer any reason for Data's avoidance. Not one to be thwarted, Lt. Leigh came up with a plan.

Data had retired for the evening and was contemplating his bed. He had not activates his dream program in three weeks. Each time he had before, he dreamt of Harper and woke up crying. He decided against dreams tonight and headed back out of his bedroom. He was walking towards his computer with the door chime signaled.

"Come," Data called, wondering what Geordi was doing up so late.

The door opened and Talen Leigh walked in. She looked slightly miffed, but no matter how she looked she still resembled Harper so closely it unnerved him.

"Since you have been avoiding me, Commander, I decided to come to you and find out why. If you don't want me to handle your counseling, I have no objections, but I'd like to know why first." The woman's voice was half way between angry and confused, dipping into both.

Feeling cornered and abandoned by his voice simulator, Data just stared at her for a painful moment. Reaching a decision, he took her by the shoulders and guided her towards his bedroom door.

"Hey? Wait a minute! I'm not interested in—" she stopped her objecting once Data maneuvered her into his private sanctuary.

Over his bed was a portrait. It was one that Data had painted years ago. It portrayed Harper Soong leaning over from behind her seated husband. With her arms wrapped around his neck she smiled, rubbing her cheek against his. There was the light of love in her blue eyes. It also shone brightly in Data's gold ones.

"Oh my! She...was she your wife?" Leigh asked. She moved in for a closer look.

"Yes. Harper Talenger. Harper Talenger Soong."

Leigh looked from the painting to its creator. "You've been avoiding me because I look like her." It was not a question.

"I was unprepared for this." Data could not help the grief that crept into his voice. "A passing resemblance, I could have tolerated... You...I thought you were Harper for a fraction of a second." His gaze lingered on the woman standing beside his bed.

"You still do, don't you?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair and tucking it behind her ears. Her hair only came down to her chin, so it did not stay there for long.

"Theoretically, it is possible that you are this timeline's representation to that person," Data replied. He watched as the lieutenant walked passed him and back into the main room.

"Come on, that was hundreds of years ago! Just because I look like her, you think I AM her?" she looked disappointed in him, but unnerved as well.

"You are correct, but it is still possible. I do not know enough about you to dismiss the possibility." Data followed her and when she sat down on his couch, he sat there as well, but on the opposite side.

"I can't believe that a person...forgive me, Commander, but an android, who is designed for logical reasoning would be even partially convinced with only one tiny fact to support this conclusion. I have to believe you have something else." She stared back at him challengingly.

"Her last name when I first met her was TALENger. Also her middle name was Leigh."

Talen paled slightly. "Mine is Marie."

"Her mother's name was Marie." Looking determined, she moved to face Data more directly. "Was she a counselor?"

"No," he admitted. She looked triumphant until he told her how Harper had helped him through many emotional traumas in their years together causing him to believe she could have been a wonderful counselor. "Have you ever been married?" he asked.

"No, but I was engaged. Robert was killed in a mining accident." She looked sad for a moment.

"Then you had no children, I assume."

The woman paled before answering slowly. "Well...a few weeks after Robert was killed, I found out I was pregnant, but I lost her too. I miscarried...it was how I found out I was pregnant."

"I am very sorry. I did not intend to upset you with these questions," Data told her gently.

"Have I convinced you?" she asked, trying to put aside the pain.

Data shook his head meaningfully. Leigh sighed and grimaced. "What are some of your likes and dislikes? Perhaps there will be a discrepancy there," he suggested.

"I like to help people, to see them happy. That's one of the reasons why your avoiding me upset me so much. You need counseling," she stressed.

Data smiled. "Agreed. Continue."

"I don't like parrises squares. Actually, I don't like most sports, but watching some is all right. I like plants, but I can't grow them. I love all kinds of music and I can play a little piano, but not much. I love to cook and I like things neat." She looked around Data's quarters. "We seem to have that in common, Commander," she noted.

"Yes, you have that in common with me...as well."

Leigh sighed. Frustrated she got up and headed towards his door. She could feel Data moving to follow. She turned to look at him. "I think under the circumstances, you should have Deanna see to your emotional healthcare."

"I concur," Data replied calmly.

She turned away, but did not move towards the door. Exhaling sharply, she turned back to face Data. "What was her favorite colour?"

"Purple."

"HA! That's not mine! Mine is gold!" she announced, triumphantly.

Data's eyebrows went up for a brief moment and then he just smiled at her.

Realizing the cause for his smile, Leigh flushed. She looked at her feet and sighed.

"I believe you and I need some time to digest what we have learned today," Data suggested.

Talen nodded, but did not look up. "I think so too."

"Will you have dinner with me next week, Talen?" Data asked gently.

Talen still did not look at him. "I...I... How about Thursday?"

"Agreed. I will come to your quarters at 1800 hours." Neither of them moved for several seconds.

Finally Talen looked at him and smiled, hesitantly. "See you then, Commander...Data."

"I look forward to it," Data told her. She blushed slightly as she finally tuned to go. Once alone, Data released a sigh. He did not know if this woman was really his late wife reborn in this time, but it really did not matter. The key was that he wanted to get to know her better and she seemed open to learning more about him.

Sitting on his couch, Spot came to join the android. He stroked his cat and sighed. Q's intent had been to teach Data that being human was not so pleasing a thing, but the omnipotent being was wrong. Data learned that being human was a great joy, but like any joy, it was a million times better if shared.

Fin


End file.
